$3B investment in dementia research on the line in November election

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas voters will have the choice to vote on 17 different constitutional amendments in the upcoming November election, one of which could create a new state agency that would make the state a leader in researching how to prevent dementia.

Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 5 and SJR 3

during the regular session with overwhelming bipartisan support. It would create the Dementia Prevention Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT), similar to the existing Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) that was approved by voters in 2008. Since it is a constitutional amendment, Texas voters would have to approve the initiative during the Nov. 4 election. The initiative is Proposition 14 on the ballot.

The institute would be responsible for awarding $3 billion worth of grants to research, study, and develop techniques to treat and prevent dementia diseases. That money will be awarded over a 10-year period. The agency would face a sunset review at the end of the 10 years in 2035.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said Alzheimer’s disease, which causes dementia, is rising in Texas and becoming a public health crisis, according to a report from December 2024. More than 450,000 Texans over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer’s.

Advocates for Prop 14 said it is a pivotal moment for dementia research after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USDA) approved treatments that slow the progress of Alzheimer’s for those in the earliest stages of the disease. Alzheimer’s is the most common dementia case, according to DSHS.

“We need more opportunities to progress within our research and bring more treatments through the pipeline,” Joanne Pike, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, said.

However, a few state lawmakers who voted against the measure in the legislature argue this investment should come from the private sector and not public dollars.

“Adding more spending, even for well-intended causes, is fiscally irresponsible,” State Rep. Brian Harrison, R – Midlothian, said during the floor debate before he and 22 other House Republican members voted no on the measure.

But Pike argues Texas taxpayers are already bearing the cost of dementia even if they do not know anyone who has it. DSHS data shows Alzheimer’s is costing the state’s Medicaid program $3.9 billion.

Vic Figurelli is one of more than a million Texans who has had to provide care to a loved one who is living with Alzheimer’s. For Figurelli, it was his wife Camille. He described her as a creative, fun-loving person who enjoyed hosting parties, cooking and working on her puzzles.

Figurelli even made sure that when they moved to their home in Central Texas there was a special room for her to work on those puzzles. But after she was diagnosed with the disease, a talent she had with puzzles, along with her personality, slowly disappeared.

“I know cancer wastes away people, but have their whole personality disappear is a very tough thing to watch,” Figurelli said of his late wife. He recalls her bouts of hallucinations and the struggles of day-to-day life as her condition got worse.

“She started to lose cognizance of who was her grandchildren, what their names were, and things like personal hygiene,” Figurelli described. “It was kind of like dealing with a five-year-old.”

This month will be the nine-year anniversary of his wife’s passing. He is advocating for Prop 14 because he believes more research needs to be done.