Gladys Maestre, a neuroscience professor and director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center at UT Rio Grande Valley, traveled to Austin, Texas, to advocate for increased state funding for Alzheimer’s care and prevention, especially in the Rio Grande Valley, which faces disproportionately high rates of the disease.
Texas, which ranks high nationally in Alzheimer’s prevalence and deaths, has invested far less in dementia care compared to other states, despite a large budget surplus. The Rio Grande Valley, in particular, suffers from severe healthcare shortages, poverty and lack of infrastructure, making the crisis even more urgent.
A small victory came in the form of a new law proposing the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT), modeled after the state’s cancer research institute. If approved by voters in November, DPRIT would allocate $3 billion over ten years for dementia research. However, critics worry the funds may not reach underserved regions like the Valley, and that immediate needs of patients and caregivers remain unaddressed.