ARIZONA STATE SENATE
appropriation;
Alzheimer’s disease research
(NOW:
appropriations; disease research)
Appropriates $2 million in FY 2001-2002 from the state general fund to the Department of Health Services (DHS) for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease research.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, a medical condition that interferes with normal brain functioning. The disease proceeds in stages over months or years and gradually destroys memory, reason, judgement, language and eventually the ability to carry out even simple tasks. Changes in mood and personality may occur which may result in loss of self-control and other related problems.
According to the Arizona Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, Alzheimer’s disease affects approximately 10 percent of people over the age of 65 and approximately 50 percent of those over the age of 85. According to the Arizona Alzheimer’s Association, the disease currently affects 4 million Americans, about 80,000 are Arizonans, and by the middle of the next century, an estimated 16 million people will have Alzheimer’s disease if a cure or prevention is not found.
In 1998, the Legislature appropriated $1 million to DHS to fund grants for Alzheimer’s research. Those monies have leveraged dollar-for-dollar matching funds from the private sector to establish the Arizona Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, a statewide laboratory without walls. The laboratory consists of researchers from Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Harrington Research Center, Mayo Clinic-Scottsdale, Sun Health Research Institute and Barrow Neurological Institute. These research centers work collaboratively using each institution’s expertise in brain imaging, computer science and behavioral neurosciences.
Parkinson’s disease is a motor system disorder and results from the loss of dopamine producing brain cells. People suffering from Parkinson’s disease experience difficulty controlling or directing their movements since the loss of dopamine causes uncontrolled firing of neurons. According to the National Institutes of Health, Parkinson’s disease is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease. Most cases of Parkinson’s disease begin after the age of 50. Although the exact cause of Parkinson’s disease is unknown, researchers believe a combination of factors can result in Parkinson’s disease. These factors are an individual’s inherited genetic susceptibility, subsequent environmental exposures and age.
In 1997, the U.S. Congress enacted the Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Act authorizing up to $100 million in funding to the National Institutes of Health for Parkinson’s research, expanding basic and clinical research into the disease and supporting the establishment of Parkinson’s databanks and information clearinghouses. Currently, DHS does not have a Parkinson’s disease research grant program.
H.B. 2192 appropriates $2 million in FY 2001-2002 from the state general fund to DHS for disease research; $1 million for Alzheimer’s disease research recruitment and retention effort grants to universities, hospitals and research centers and $1 million to the Arizona Disease Control Research Commission (ADCRC) for Parkinson’s research grants.
1. Appropriates $2 million in FY 2001-2002 from the state general fund to DHS to distribute as follows:
2. Requires Alzheimer’s disease research grant applicants to apply directly to the DHS Director.
3. Requires the Director to only consider applicants who are part of a statewide collaborative program consisting of universities, hospitals and research centers.
4. Authorizes a recipient to use a maximum of $150,000 of the grant for administrative costs.
5. Exempts, for one year from the effective date of this act, DHS from the procurement code requirements for purposes of distributing the grant monies.
6. Requires recipients to commission an audit, conduct an evaluation of expenditures and submit a report to DHS by October 1, 2002.
7. Allows monies not used for recruitment and retention efforts to be used for additional Alzheimer’s disease research.
8. Requires Parkinson’s disease research contract recipients to commission an audit, conduct an evaluation of expenditures and submit a report to the ADCRC.
9. Requires the Parkinson’s disease research contracts report to be included in the ADCRC’s annual report.
10. Prohibits the use of appropriated research monies on research using human fetal tissue, cells or organs obtained from a living or dead embryo or fetus during or after an induced abortion. Excludes, from the prohibition, human fetal tissue, cells or organs obtained from a spontaneous abortion or an ectopic pregnancy.
11. Exempts the appropriation from lapsing.
12. Provides for a general effective date.
Health 1/15/01 DP 10-0-0-0
Approp 2/20/01 DPA/SE 16-0-0-0
3rd Read 3/07/01 55-3-2-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
March 22, 2001