alzheimers

Guests:

Larry Goldstein, PhD, Director, UCSD Stem Cell Program
Bio and Contact Info

Listen (2:50) Three stem cell projects

Listen (8:41) Single cell genomics some really cool technology

Listen (4:26) Alzheimer's will not be treated with a single drug

Listen (7:38) Alzheimer's a national emergency

Listen (2:59) Making a case for science funding

Listen (3:38) Thoughts about CIRM

Larry Goldstein came up quickly on the list for our series on Single Cell Genomics. Little did we know he would come on the show and make such a passionate case for biomedical research funding in general, and particularly for Alzheimer's. Early in the show Larry describes how he is using the "unbelievable, really cool technology" of single cell genomics in his lab. Director of UC San Diego's Stem Cell Program, Larry is using stem cells to study ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), Alzheimer's, and Neimann Pick Type C, a rare pediatric disease. Larry says that Alzheimer's has become a "national emergency."

"In the United States, the annual cost to the healthcare system of Alzheimer's disease is somewhere between $200 and $250 billion," he says in today's show. "The entire NIH appropriation is $30 billion." He goes on to point out that the amount of the NIH budget for Alzheimer's research--our only hope for alleviating the burden of the disease on the healthcare system--is $500 million. "The ratio of cost of research to cost of care is terrifying….This is insanity! We're bleeding money and doing next to nothing to stop the bleeding."

How is Larry making his case for Alzheimer's research and basic science in general? And what are his thoughts on CIRM (California Institute for Regenerative Medicine)? Goldstein is as eloquent a speaker as he is passionate.