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About the Waltrip Challenge
• Michael Waltrip has teamed up with the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation in a nationwide campaign
called the Waltrip Challenge -- a campaign that “challenges” the community to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s
research.
• Waltrip Challenge continues through November 1. We are encouraging fans to get involved now –so join Michael
Waltrip now to help spread the word and continue to raise funds.
• We need our NASCAR fans to get involved. Once you sign up for the Waltrip Challenge you’ll get great ideas
for raising funds, like hosting car washes in your community.
About Alzheimer:
• It destroys a victim’s memory, personality and identity; victims irreversibly lose their cognitive and functional
abilities.
• More than 5 million Americans now suffer from Alzheimer’s and there are 10s of millions of lives that are dramatically
altered as caregivers, family, and friends.
• There is no current cure or means of prevention.
• The annual financial burden is estimated at approximately $100 billion.
• Research initiatives are seriously underfunded: the current annual federal biomedical research budget for Alzheimer’s
amounts to only 0.3% of the cost of the disease to society.
• Every 7 seconds another case of dementia is reported.
• Alzheimer’s is the third most expensive illness after heart disease and cancer.
• Between 1998 and 2000, heart disease deaths dropped 29%, and lung cancer by 19%, but deaths from Alzheimer’s
soared 220%.
About The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation:
• Funds more than 85 scientists in the U.S. with partnerships and collaborations in 17 other countries.
• 94% of funds go directly to research, 4% for administrative costs.
• More than 5 million Americans now suffer from Alzheimer’s and there are 10s of millions of lives that are dramatically
altered as caregivers, family, and friends.
• Every 7 seconds another case of dementia is reported.
The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation is leading the fight against Alzheimer’s
In response to the growing impact of Alzheimer’s on society, David Rockefeller in partnership with Zachary Fisher, noted
philanthropist, and Michael Stern our foundation’s president and CEO built the largest and best equipped center for
Alzheimer’s research in America. Our research team of 85 distinguished scientists, both nationally and abroad, is headed
by Nobel laureate Dr. Paul Greengard, director of the Foundation’s research laboratories at The Rockefeller University.
Dr. Greengard’s seminal work shed light on the mystery of how the brain loses function in Alzheimer’s disease
by pioneering an understanding of the molecular and cellular basis by which nerve cells communicate with one another.
In Alzheimer’s the progressive loss of cognitive function is accompanied by pathologic (disease associated) changes
in the brain. One of these is the formation of plaques sometimes described as tiny “Brillo pads” in the space
between nerve cells. Unlike plaques in blood vessels, which are composed of the fatty substance cholesterol, the brain plaques
in Alzheimer’s are comprised of a stringy protein called beta-amyloid. Amyloid build-up injures and kills brain cells
and brings on the disease.
Important Advances Close At Hand
The potential causes of Alzheimer’s are complex and numerous. So we have dedicated the thrust of our research to finding
a way to lessen the creation of amyloid in the brain. In our earlier studies we were able to inhibit the build-up of beta-amyloid
by as much as 90%, but there were toxic side effects. Next Greengard and his scientists produced a concept based on an anti-cancer
drug already in general use. These findings created a stir in the scientific community. At this point we have one further
obstacle to overcome: finding a method of delivering this drug to the brain without it being stopped by the brain blood barrier.
Success in this area could result in the first truly effective anti-Alzheimer’s drug, one capable of stopping the progression
of the disease and alleviating symptoms.
Your Support Is Critical – Now More Than Ever
The average age of a person getting Alzheimer’s is 72. The average lifespan of an American is 78. Our new discoveries
may reduce the creation of beta-amyloid and in doing so, may not only interrupt the disease’s progress but might also
delay the disease by as much as 20 years. The successful outcome of our experiments provides the greatest hope for conquering
this disease. Your support will help us move forward to an Alzheimer’s free world.
Of every dollar we raise, 94 cents goes directly to research
pardon the fact most are love songs...lol! I am a sucker for a love song, and besides I had Michael on my mind when creating
this song list...but hey, I am a chick, right? I did however toss in other songs too...
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