WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of four senators on Monday introduced a bill they say would better align Alzheimer’s treatment and prevention strategies with public health approaches for other chronic health conditions, allowing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to “create a modern infrastructure for the prevention, treatment, and care of Alzheimer’s and related dementias.”
The legislation, authored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), focuses on improving early detection mechanisms, local health program coordination, and data-gathering operations.
The Alzheimer’s Association, an advocacy group backing the legislation, estimates that nearly one-half of Americans with Alzheimer’s currently go undiagnosed, and that the disease’s prevalence among multiple minority groups is at least 50 percent higher than in white Americans.
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