Since 2001, NEAR has been at the forefront of developing novel therapies for Alzheimer's disease. We thank all of the people who have generously contributed to our mission to eradicate this terrible disease, and helped bring us closer to a cure.
Effective immediately, due to a lack of funding, NEAR has ceased operations and will no longer be accepting donations. Without more government investment, it is not possible to support the costs of our research. Thanks to the hard work of our scientists and physicians, we are one step closer to a cure. We have made great progress in recent years, but there is much work to be done. Our knowledge of the basic processes underlying the initiation and progression of the disease remains incomplete.
The World Alzheimer Report projects that at current rates of growth, the number of people living worldwide with Alzheimer's will grow to over 100 million by 2050. According to the World Health Organization, in the absence of a cure, Alzheimer's disease will soon surpass cancer, AIDS, and all cardiovascular diseases in prevalence.
Alzheimer's disease remains significantly underfunded compared to these other major diseases. In 2018, the global cost of Alzheimer's disease is approximately 1 trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000) or 5% of the United States GDP. To put matters in perspective, the amount of money spent annually on Alzheimer's research is far less than 1% of the overall costs to society.
What can you do? We encourage the public to contact their elected representatives and ask that government funding for Alzheimer's must be increased to reflect the global impact of the disease. This would entail a ten-fold increase in spending, if we hope to find a cure in our lifetimes. Your voice and your support are still necessary, so that dedicated biomedical researchers can continue the mission to eradicate Alzheimer's disease.