As the Trump administration implements substantial reductions to federal health agencies, notably the National Institutes of Health, many Alzheimer’s specialists express concerns that research into the neurodegenerative disease might be interrupted, potentially affecting treatment options and impacting the lives of both patients and their families.
Last week, the Alzheimer’s Association reported that two associated programs have had staff placed on administrative leave due to these cuts: The Healthy Brain Initiative, which seeks to enhance understanding of brain health, and Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s, focusing on risk reduction along with improved detection and diagnosis.
These initiatives “significantly impact Americans on a daily basis,” the organization stated, noting that the BOLD program and other Alzheimer’s initiatives were recently reauthorized by Congress with unanimous support last year.
Joanne Pike, the association’s president and CEO, emphasized the importance of these public health programs for those affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia nationwide.
“Among other benefits, they ensure individuals living with dementia, their caregivers, and health providers have access to necessary information, resources, and support,” said Pike. “While the programs remain active, further reductions in staff and resources could lead to irreversible harm.”
The nonprofit Alzheimer’s Impact Movement highlights that federal funding for Alzheimer’s research reaches as high as $3.8 billion annually.
“Decreased funding for research leads to delays in developing and refining treatments that could postpone or prevent the onset of dementia symptoms, adversely affecting the quality of life and increasing hardship for both patients and families,” explained Jason Krellman, a clinical neuropsychologist and assistant professor at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, in a statement to CBS News.
Krellman stressed that this is a pivotal moment for brain disease research, as new medications are being developed that target the root causes of Alzheimer’s instead of merely alleviating symptoms.
“Cuts to funding will undoubtedly hinder or even halt the progress we are finally beginning to make toward finding cures for Alzheimer’s disease and similar conditions. This is especially concerning given that our population is aging, leading to greater prevalence of these diseases in the years ahead,” he added.
Cuts could jeopardize “the entire pipeline”
Lawrence Chernin, CEO and co-founder of Dabble Health, focusing on cognitive health monitoring, is apprehensive that funding reductions could leave transformative innovations behind. He and his team are working on an app intended to provide users with a “cognitive score,” similar to health apps that analyze sleep patterns — although more testing is required for scientific validation.
Despite encouraging results from a pilot study, Chernin noted that traditional investors often consider tools like theirs to be “premature and overly risky.”
“Government funding through NIH and SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grants serves as the only feasible link from promising research to clinical validation,” he told CBS News, adding that his company recently sought an SBIR grant.
“Honestly, without this funding, our company may not endure,” he stated. “These NIH reductions not only endanger our company; they threaten the entire pipeline of early-stage medical innovations capable of revolutionizing Alzheimer’s care.”
The SBIR program supports the NIH’s National Institute on Aging, which allocates nearly $150 million in grants to small businesses each year. The institute claims it is the leading source of early-stage funding for research and development related to aging, including Alzheimer’s interventions.
While Chernin acknowledges that some believe there is significant waste in government spending, he argues, “overall, it accomplishes so much,” citing advancements in cancer research as an example.
“Currently, cancer is not as daunting in comparison to diseases like Alzheimer’s, because effective remedies exist for cancer,” he noted.
Hoping for ongoing support
Conversely, figures like Dr. Joshua Hare, chairman and chief science officer at biotechnology firm Longeveron, maintain a hopeful outlook. The company recently completed a successful Phase 2 study, published last month in Nature Medicine, for an Alzheimer’s medication they are developing.
“Clearly, we have a president who is enacting significant changes across all areas of our lives. … While they aim to cut funding and streamline the NIH, I do not believe they are fundamentally anti-health,” he shared with CBS News. Hare anticipates increased funding for areas aligned with the Make America Healthy Again initiative, as well as other priorities set forth by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding chronic illness and food additives.
Although certain sectors are facing cuts — for instance, COVID and DEI-related initiatives are already experiencing reductions — Hare isn’t particularly worried about Alzheimer’s research being adversely affected.
“I can’t state that with certainty. I’m not part of the government. However, I paid attention to what the new NIH director said during his confirmation hearings, specifically regarding Alzheimer’s research, and he mentioned that there are underfunded research avenues in that area that merit ongoing support.”
Previously, his company received NIH funding for a trial unrelated to Alzheimer’s, while the Phase 1 trial for Longeveron’s Alzheimer’s drug was fully funded by the Alzheimer’s Association. Hare noted, “Without that exceptional funding from the Alzheimer’s Association and NIH, the company could not have reached its current stage.” He confirmed that the company is “fully committed” to delivering its product swiftly to those in need.
Although the long-term effects of these cuts remain uncertain, Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, stated in a CBS News commentary that bipartisan collaboration is crucial in the ongoing fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
“We appreciate that federal lawmakers in Congress and the White House have collaborated in a bipartisan manner over the past decade to secure vital federal funding increases for Alzheimer’s research and have treated it as an escalating public health crisis, not a political one,” the statement read. “Building on this progress is essential to ensure we reach the goal of curing Alzheimer’s.”
