,,iv #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #dhi ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #be1 #bjad ,mr4 ,smith of ,new ,jersey 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,waters1 ,mr4 ,burgess1 ,mr4 ,fattah1 and ,mr4 ,meadows7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,,resolution ,expressing the sense of ,congress regarding the need to facilitate and promote a robust response to the looming global crisis of ,alzheimer's and other forms of dementia4 ,whereas dementia is a degenerative condition caused by disease of the brain--usually of a chronic or progressive nature--in which there is disturbance of multiple higher cortical functions1 including memory1 thinking1 orientation1 comprehension1 calculation1 learning capacity1 language and judgment4 ,whereas between #e to #g percent of the world's population age #fj and above are estimated to have dementia4 ,whereas dementia can be caused by various factors1 including traumatic or localized brain injury1 a temporary interruption of the brain's supply of blood or oxygen1 infection1 stroke1 brain hemorrhage1 prolonged seizures or even excessive alcohol use4 ,whereas ,alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia1 accounting for #fj-gj of dementia cases4 ,other forms of dementia include vascular dementia 7caused by damage from impaired blood flow71 frontotemporal dementia 7involving degeneration of the frontal lobe of the brain governing mood and behavior71 semantic dementia 7caused by damage to the left temporal lobe governing speech7 and dementia with ,lewy bodies 7involving abnormal aggregation of protein inside nerve cells in the brain74 ,whereas1 according to ,alzheimer's ,disease ,international1 more than #dd million people worldwide are suffering from ,alzheimer's or dementia1 a figure that will expand to more than #ge million people by #bjcj and more than #aae million people by #bjej if the current trajectory of the disease remains unchanged4 ,globally1 a new case of dementia occurs every four seconds4 ,whereas ,alzheimer's disease and related dementias impose a devastating1 unsustainable and rapidly growing toll on the health and fiscal well-being of the ,united ,states and all countries4 ,in #bjaj1 the annual global societal economic cost of ,alzheimer's and dementia was estimated to be #fjd billion1 about #a percent of the world's ,gross ,domestic ,product 7,,gdp74 ,whereas more than #fb percent of people with dementia globally live in low-to-middle income countries1 and by #bjej this percentage will exceed #gj percent4 ,whereas ,standard ,poors rating agency has identified global aging as the dominant threat to global economic stability that will lead to profound changes in economic growth for countries around the world4 ,whereas no disease-modifying therapy or treatment for ,alzheimer's exists today4 ,dementia can be classified as either reversible or irreversible1 fewer than #aj of cases of dementia are due to causes that currently may be reversed with treatment4 ,whereas in ,january #bjab1 the ,united ,nations ,general ,assembly adopted the political declaration of the high-level meeting of the ,general ,assembly on the ,prevention and ,controls of ,non-communicable disease that recognized ,alzheimer's as being an important cause of morbidity and a corresponding need to provide equitable access to effective programmes and health- care interventions4 ,whereas in #bjab1 the ,united ,states adopted a ,national ,plan to ,address ,alzheimer's ,disease that set as its first goal preventing and effectively treating ,alzheimer's disease by #bjbe4 ,whereas in ,december #bjac the ,g#h nations convened the ,g#h ,dementia ,summit and established a similar goal to 8identify a cure or a disease-modifying therapy for dementia by #bjbe and to increase collectively and significantly the amount of funding for dementia research to reach that goal4 ,whereas the ,g#h political declaration called for greater international collaboration and sharing on ,alzheimer's research and for the development of a coordinated international research plan that accounts for the current state of the science1 identifies gaps and opportunities1 and lays out a plan for working together to address them4 ,whereas the ,g#h declaration also called for greater innovation to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and their caretakers while reducing emotional and financial burden and for exploring the possibility of developing a private and philanthropic fund to support global dementia innovation43 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that it should be the policy of the ,u4,s4 ,government to encourage and facilitate as feasible3 #a4 ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall enter into negotiations with the ,world ,health ,organization to develop a ,global ,alzheimer's and ,dementia ,action ,plan focused on the following areas3 7,a7 ,research1 including clinical research and clinical trials1 and regulatory issue2 7,b7 ,clinical care2 7,c7 ,supportive services for patients and for caregivers1 including supports using innovative technologies2 7,d7 ,clinical care2 7,e7 ,supportive services for patients and for caregivers1 including supports using innovative technologies2 7,f7 ,prevention and health promotion2 7,g7 ,development of a stable and sustained international commitment to ,alzheimer's research1 and 7,h7 ,public awareness and education1 particularly efforts aimed at reducing stigmas and increasing the inclusion of persons with ,alzheimer's and dementia within civil society4 #b4 ,in addition to the ,,who1 the effort should involve all other nations that have adopted national ,alzheimer's and_/or dementia plans or strategies and1 to the greatest extent possible1 connect to components of one or more of said plans4 ,nations without plans yet willing to participate in developing the global strategy can do so if they commit to providing resources to fund the effort4 #c4 ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services along with the ,secretary of the ,treasury should develop the foundation for a ,global ,alzheimer's ,fund that would provide resources to support implementation of specific strategies of the ,global ,plan4 ,this early-stage effort shall include3 7,a7 ,priority areas of focus1 7,b7 ,governance structure and 7,c7 ,participation of other government1 private entities and non-governmental organizations ,the ,u4,s4 government should assign a high-level person to lead and coordinate all ,global ,alzheimer's and dementia initiatives including representing the ,united ,states in all convenings focused on developing the plan1 fund1 and corresponding components4 #d4 ,the ,g#h nations1 working with the ,g#bj1 ,g#gg and other forums including the ,organization for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development 7,,oecd7 should investigate systems to monitor and provide care to persons with ,alzheimer's and other forms of dementia in developing countries to help build care delivery capacity4 #e4 ,the ,u4,s4 ,agency for ,international ,development1 in collaboration with all other relevant ,u4,s4 agencies1 should investigate the foreign aid implications of ,alzheimer's and other forms of dementia and inform ,congress as to the need for possible changes to foreign healthcare-related foreign assistance4 #f4 ,in order to maximize the possibility of successful treatment for ,alzheimer's and other forms of dementia1 the ,u4,s4 government should encourage and facilitate partnerships with the private sector1 such as the current partnership between the ,national ,institutes of health and #aj pharmaceutical companies to identify new approaches to treat ,alzheimer's and other medical conditions4