Bill Seeks Support for People With Alzheimer's Under 60

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) is promoting bipartisan legislation called the Younger-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Act to guarantee that persons diagnosed with Alzheimer's before age 60 have access to programs and support services, reports WPRI . Casey argued research funding must be increased to the billions of dollars to really make a positive impact. "Just in Pennsylvania alone, 280,000 people have this disease," he noted. "We lose more than 4,200 to Alzheimer's every year." Clay Jacobs of the Greater Pennsylvania Alzheimer's Association informed the Senate Special Committee on Aging at a recent hearing that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 14 million people will be living with Alzheimer's by 2060. At the hearing, senators from both parties pledged to cooperate to fund research for a cure and deliver a comprehensive approach for care. "While Alzheimer's robs our loved ones of precious memories, I stand with you to do everything we can to make Alzheimer's a memory one day," declared Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).