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Monday, May 15, 1995 ROLL CALL Page 5 Guest Observer By Leon N. Cooper and James D. Watson Two Nobel Winners: Why Brain Research Is National Priority The growth in our knowledge of the brain over the last five years has exceeded anything we imagined when Congress first authorized and President Bush proclaimed the "Decade of the Brain" in 1990. Now at the midpoint of the decade, our col- leagues in the Dana Alliance for Brain Initia- tives will report tomorrow, in the Cannon Cau- cus Room, on a new era that holds great promise for individual health and vitality. For all three stages of life -- early devel- opment, maturity, and aging -- new and an- ticipated discoveries about the brain offer un- precedented opportunities to relieve suffering, improve the of life of those with neu- rological and psychiatric disorders, and low- er health care costs. The question today is whether or not Con- gress will continue to make brain research a priority. so as to continue to reap the benefits of the nation's spectacularly successful in- vestment in basic research. Neurological and psychiatric disorders to- gether count for more hospitalizations and more prolonged care than almost all diseases com- bined. Patient care and social spending caused by brain-related disorders represents a dispro- portionate amount of all health care costs. But in the remaining five years of this decade, scientists are optimistic that exciting advances will be made across the broad front of brain research. Work just coming off labo- --------------------------------------------- Ask Sens. Rockefeller or Mikulski what it means to watch the relentless destruction of a parent from Alzheimer's --------------------------------------------- ratory benches should enable us to intervene early in, or medicate some to today's inca- pacitating brain diseases and disorders. Brain-related disorders cost this country an estimated $600 billion per year for patient care, hospitalization, and loss of savings. These costs could be significantly lowered if we could effectively treat the disorders, some of which begin at or before birth and may last a lifetime. Here, from s Dana Alliance summary enti- tled "Delivering Results: A Progress Report On Brain Research," are examples of the gains that we may see during the rest of this decade if adequate support for research continues. CHILDHOOD: . More effective treatment for muscle spas- ticity in cerebral palsy and the prevention of a significant proportion of CP cases arising from low birth weight. . The development of new medications for schizophrenia. . The identification of several more genes that contribute to inherited forms of blindness, deafness, and mental retardation. ADULTHOOD: . New insights into the causation of multi- ple sclerosis and the testing of new therapeu- tic approaches that alter its natural course. . Understanding the molecules in the brain to which drugs of abuse bind should make it possible to develop more effective cocaine- blocking agents. . Improved clinical care has already in- creased the proportion of patients with spinal cord injuries who are able to return to their communities; this should continue and, in time, lead to the first effective methods to re- pair the injured spinal cord. LATER YEARS: . Our growing knowledge of genetics and pathology of Alzheimer's disease should al- low us to design drugs to treat the disease. Some of those drugs may well be in clinical trials before the end of the decade. . A cell transplant therapy for Parkinson's disease will probably emerge as a practical procedure for those who do not respond to L- dopa treatment. . New drugs that increase resistance to brain cell damage in cases of stroke will be avail- able and begin to be tested in clinical trials. What do these advances hold for average Americans? The same kind of hope and so- lace that Members of Congress would wish for their own families and for themselves. Ask Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WVa) or Sen. Barbara Mikulski D-Md) what if means to watch the relentless destruction of a parent from Alzheimer's disease. Talk to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa), who underwent surgery for a brain tu- mor, or to Rep. Jim Moran D-Va), whose child lies frightfully ill from the same problem. Listen to Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) dis- cuss a family member's serious mental disor- ders, or hear Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md) ex- plain the pain of dealing with epilepsy. And speak to Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-RI) about the difficulties that Parkinson's disease presents. All these illnesses and difficulties involve the brain, and only brain research can unlock the secrets that will give those who suffer from these disorders (and their families) some hope. Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore), when an- nouncing the introduction of the "Mo Udall Bill" to fund Parkinson's research, personal- ly lamented the fact that federal dollars for ba- sic medical research are proposed to decrease in the Clinton Administration budget by more than a billion dollars by 2000. Professing his dismay, Hatfield also noted that neither the proposed Clinton health care bill not the one put forward by Republicans includes any pro- vision for this vital medical research. Is the message to the research community that what has already been achieved in brain re- search and what you are confident of achiev- ing in the near future, is not a national priority? The message of the Dana Alliance report -- to be presented to Congress tomorrow -- is one of opportunity and hope. What will be Con- gress's message to the scientific community? Leon N. Cooper, Ph.D., is a professor in the department of physics and neuroscience at Brown University. He received the 1971 Nobel Prize in physics. James D. Watson, Ph.D., is the president of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He received the 1961 Nobel Prize in physi- ology or medicine.