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Twenty years ago, when state Rep. Tom Craddick asked voters in West Texas what disease they feared most, the answer was always cancer.
A few weeks ago, when Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick approached Mr. Craddick about the idea for a new blockbuster medical research fund, Mr. Craddick asked the group of voters again, and no one mentioned cancer.
“It was unanimous in the room,” Craddick said. “Alzheimer’s disease and dementia”
Craddick (R-Midland) gathered at the University of Texas at Austin this week, a day after Patrick made a surprising announcement that he wants lawmakers to approve a dementia research fund modeled after Texas’ success. I told that story to a room full of enthusiastic researchers. the $6 billion Cancer Prevention Research Institute, known as CPRIT;
The Texas-funded Dementia Research Fund follows in the mold of the now-successful 15-year-old Cancer Fund, which will provide hundreds of millions of dollars to the field as it continues to search for better ways and treatments to slow symptoms. There is a possibility of spending dollars. Since its inception in 2007, CPRIT has become the second largest funder of cancer research in the United States and, if successful, will help dementia researchers make a global impact on how people with dementia are prevented and cared for. may give.
“Like CPRIT, this investment will attract top researchers and companies to Texas, and by requiring them to locate in Texas, will lead to further investment in our state,” Patrick said in a statement Monday.
Patrick said Craddick will work with Senate Finance Chairwoman Joanne Huffman (R-Houston) to get the proposal through the Texas Legislature and before voters this year. added.
“I don’t think there’s a family in Texas that hasn’t been directly affected by these illnesses or doesn’t have a close friend,” Huffman said, adding that about 30% of Medicaid recipients in Texas are in nursing homes. pointed out. Dementia patients are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital due to dementia-related problems. “We’re paying a lot of money on the back end for these diseases.”
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Few details have been released since Patrick announced that he would make the Dementia Prevention Institute of Texas a priority at the meeting, which begins Jan. 14. It’s unclear how much money such a fund would hold or how it would be financed, including through bonds. Whether the state’s enviable Economic Stabilization Fund (also commonly known as the Rainy Day Fund) is tapped to get it started, as CPRIT was. The Texas Tribune did not immediately respond to a call to Patrick’s office seeking more information.
But Mr. Craddick’s anecdote underscored what Mr. Patrick and other lawmakers are discovering in their own districts. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are a major concern due to their devastating effects and costs.
Patrick’s Dementia Research Campaign
Patrick’s announcement builds on momentum from 2023, when a similar bill failed. That same year, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, co-authored House Bill 15 with Craddick and others, which would create the Texas Mental Health and Brain Institute, which would receive $300 million in state funding annually. Ta. The House passed the bill, but it died in the Senate.
“I think it was too broad,” Craddick said of the 2023 effort.
Then, a few months ago, Patrick began reaching out to Huffman and Craddick about creating a fund based on the CPRIT model.
“After a few sessions, we had some ideas floating around,” Huffman told the Tribune, adding that Patrick had always been interested in dementia research. “He wanted to make that one of his priorities.”
Craddick, a former Texas House speaker, doesn’t foresee any obstacles in highlighting the proposal at this early stage.
“I think it’s very likely,” he said of the proposal’s chances of passing. He said he already has the support of House Speaker Dade Phelan.
What is the CPRIT model
Texas voters approved the creation of CPRIT in 2007, raising $3 billion through a bond issue.
Even after coming under fire in 2012 for awarding $56 million in grants to research that hadn’t been properly vetted, voters approved another $3 billion five years ago. Despite the resignation of CPRIT’s director and a change in leadership, CPRIT continues to grow as a medical research engine, awarding more than $3.7 billion in grants to date.
This is now the federal government’s largest cancer research investment effort. To date, we have hired 324 researchers to Texas and helped 74 companies establish, expand, or relocate to Texas.
“Thanks to the legislative decision to create this agency through a constitutional amendment and the overwhelming support of Texans, CPRIT is poised to take on the great task of defeating cancer,” CPRIT CEO Kristen Doyle said this week. “We were able to get the long-term stability that we needed.” , to commemorate the organization’s 15th anniversary.
Risk of Alzheimer’s disease increases in Texas
Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disease, is the most common form of dementia, accounting for about 80% of cases, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, such as memory loss and inability to perform simple tasks, tend to develop in people’s mid-to-late 60s and occur when a clump of abnormal proteins blocks communication between brain cells. Symptoms may be mild at first but worsen over time.
Of the approximately 7 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease, nearly two-thirds are women, and dementia care costs Americans more than $300 billion annually.
A 2023 study shows that the eastern and southeastern United States have the highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, but Texas has the highest number of older residents estimated to be at risk for Alzheimer’s disease3 It is one of the three states. The Texas Department of State Health Services reports that 459,000 Texans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, or about 12% of the state’s population over the age of 65.
In Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, where residents are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, has become a dementia research center.
In return for a “bold vision”
News that a dementia fund will be made available next year has been praised by health advocates.
Andy Keller, president and CEO of the Meadows Institute for Mental Health Policy, called this a “bold vision” for treating and ultimately curing dementia and related neurological diseases. He said there is.
“This state, which landed a man on the moon and is at the forefront of the fight against cancer, has an incredible opportunity to prevent, treat, and cure the neurological diseases that affect so many Texans, if passed.” “It has a lot of potential,” Keller said.
The Alzheimer’s Association, which advocates for further research, also expressed support for Patrick’s efforts.
“Our shared goal is to improve the quality of life for people currently living with Alzheimer’s disease while providing better treatment options and “The ultimate goal is to work towards a future where there is a cure.”
At the University of Texas Systemwide Brain Research Summit on Tuesday, Dr. John Zerwas, UT System’s vice chancellor for health affairs, discussed Patrick’s proposal with Huffman, Craddick and neurosurgeon and state Rep. Greg Bonnen. (Republican, Friendswood) was interviewed. About how research efforts like CPRIT have helped make Texas a better magnet for bioscience research. This is despite the state being near the bottom of the list in per capita funding for research from the National Institutes of Health.
“Texas is a very large state and has a large population, so we only rank 30th in the nation,” said Zerwas, a former state representative.
Huffman said lawmakers are always looking for ways to take away more federal funds, and if spending more state funds would bring more federal funds to Texas, it’s worth considering. I answered that it was an opportunity.
“They always say Texas is a donor state, which means we pay more federal income taxes than we receive from the federal government,” Huffman said. “That’s just the truth. So when we have an opportunity to make a good investment that is a sound investment that supports Texas values and our goals, we take that opportunity.”
None of the three councilors are committed to one method of raising money.
“There’s more than one way to do it,” Bonnen said. “Pretty much anything that moves the ball forward.”
Disclosure: The University of Texas System has financially supported the Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization funded in part by contributions from members, foundations, and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. See the complete list of them here.
