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Squeaky wheel gets the research dollars


Where does research money go when it isn’t put toward epilepsy? Obviously in these trying economic times those dollars are spread thin. But I thought it would be interesting to look at which areas are benefitting most. NIH released a report in February providing a detailed account of which diseases and conditions would receive how many millions of dollars in research funding.

To give some perspective on the dollar amounts, I have gathered prevalence and new cases data on several diseases and conditions that are worth comparing to epilepsy.

Research dollars in millions
Epilepsy $135
Prevalence: 3 million in US (50 million worldwide)
New Cases: 200,000 new cases each year in US

Autism $143
Prevalence: 1 in 110 children age 8 (no total number has been confirmed)
New Cases: 40,000 new cases each year in US

Stroke $347
Prevalence: 5.8 million in US
New Cases: 500,000 new cases each year in US

Alzheimers $480
Prevalence: 5.3 million in US
New Cases: 500,000 new cases each year in US

Breast Cancer $765
Prevalence: 2.6 million in US
New Cases: 200,000 new cases

You will notice that the squeaky wheel is not as squeaky as we thought. Maybe its time to allocate some time, effort and dollars toward epilepsy.

Sources for prevalence information: NINDS, CDC, NIH
Source for funding information: NIH Estimates of Funding for Various Research, Condition, and Disease Categories (RCDC) published February 1, 2010.

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