Clinton announces $2 billion effort to cure Alzheimer's

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Clinton today announced a $2 billion annual effort to cure Alzheimer's disease by 2025, calling for doubling federal spending to combat the illness.

The Democratic front-runner plans to introduce her proposal in Iowa during her last presidential campaign swing before the holidays. The funding is coupled with proposals to aid the 15 million Americans caring for those afflicted by the illness.

The proposal marks the first time a presidential candidate has made combating Alzheimer's a campaign issue, according to advocates, and is part of a larger effort by Clinton to increasing funding for health research.

"We owe it to the millions of families who stay up at night worrying about their loved ones afflicted by this terrible disease and facing the hard reality of the long goodbye to make research investments that will prevent, effectively treat and make a cure possible by 2025," Clinton said. "The best scientific minds tell us we have a real chance to make groundbreaking progress on curing this disease and relieving the pain so many families feel every day."

Five million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, a number that's expected to increase to 15 million by 2050. The disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and disproportionately impacts minorities and women. Two out of three Alzheimer's patients are women.