awards. "reason"on book tv, magazine senior editor damon root on supreme court activism and judicial restraint. jonathan, book critic yardley, who recently retired after 33 years with the "washington post." tv,merican history historians and authors discuss president lincoln's 1864 reelection campaign. sunday afternoon on "real america," the 1965 film that chronicles the 84th infantry division during the battle of the bulge. find a complete schedule at www.c-span.org, and let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. col us, e-mail at mments@c-span.org.

like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. celebritynow presents activist events from 2014, featuring actors and stars addressing issues they care about. after seth rogen testified before a senate subcommittee on all summer's research. this is about 20 minutes. >> thank you very much for having me, mr. chairman, ranking number moran. thank you for the opportunity for me to testify today, and the opportunity for me to because an expert on something, because that is cool. i don't know if you know me at all. you told me you never saw "knocked up," so that is a little insulting. [laughter] >> i want the record to note that this is the first time in any congressional hearing in history that the words "knocked

up" ever -- [laughter] >> you're not going to like the rest of this. [laughter] answer theuld question -- i am aware this has nothing to do with the legalization of marijuana. [laughter] if you can believe it, this concerns something i find even more important. i started dating my wife nine years ago, when her mother was almost 54 years old. the first time i met her parents, being the mensch that i am, i was excited to spend time with them and make her think i was the kind of guy i should continue dating. this trip, when i first met my now mother-in-law, lauren admitted to myself and then something to me that something was off with her mother. both of lauren's mother's parents had all summer's disease. -- ll timers disease alzheimer's disease. soon after, she was diagnosed. at that point my impression of

was that it was something only really old people got, and the way it primarily showed a selfless duty -- showed itself was in for getting keys. this was the only way i had seen alzherimer's portrayed in movies and television. after that, i saw the real ugly truth of the disease. after forgetting who she and her loved ones were, my mother-in-law, a teacher for 30 years, forgot how to speak, dress herself, and go to the bathroom herself, all by the age of 16. her father and a team of caregivers dedicated themselves. they would love to do more, but unlike the other top 10 causes of death in america, there is no way to prevent, cure, or even slow the progression of alzheimer's disease.

another thing i did not realize was the shame and stigma associated with the disease. i'm told of a time when cancer had a stigma people were ashamed by. celebrities and others would hide rather than the voices of hope for people in similar situations. although this is turning, this is where we largely are with alzheimer's disease, it seems like. it is because of this lack of hope that my wife and our friends decided to do something to try to change the situation. we started how larry for charity. for charity. to support families struggling with alzheimer's and support cutting edge research. me, aso dire, it caused lazy, self-involved, generally self medicated manchild, to start an entire organization. we were not just complaining there was nothing to be done, but actively taking steps to do

something. instead of being disappointed, we started to educate young people about the reality of the disease. we started a program that allows university students to hold their own events, and 18 schools nationwide signed up. the fact we actually got college students to stop playing video games and volunteer their time was a huge a college meant, especially -- accomplishment, especially when you consider both the xbox one and playstation 4 came out this year. i'm sure you know what on talking about. i came here for two reasons. one, i'm a huge "house of cards" fan. [laughter] to say that people need more help. i have seen a massive amount of financial strain the disease causes, and if the american joinedever stop in

taylor-driven comedy i will no longer be able to afford it. imagine how people with limited incomes are dealing with this. studies show that alzheimer's and dementia is the most costly condition in the united states. more costly than heart disease in a country where for one dollar and $.29 you can get a ofk only of -- taco made doritos. while death from other causes continues to decline, death from alzheimer's has increased. over 5 million americans have alzheimer's. here is toeason i'm simply show people that they are not alone. so few people share personal stories. so few people have something to relate to. i know that if me and my wife saw someone like me talking about this, it would make us feel a little less alone. americans whisper the word alzheimer's because the

government whispers the word alzheimer's, and although a whisper is better than silence that the alzheimer's has face for decades, it is not enough. it needs to be yelled in the streets, to the point where it the attention and funding it deserves and needs. i dream of a day when my charity is no longer necessary, and i can go back to being the lazy, self-involved manchild i was meant to be. people look for the government for help. i ask when it comes to alzheimer's, you continue to take more steps. i would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to share my story and voice my wholehearted support for the continued work to curing alzheimer's disease. thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. rogen. that was good. unmask me.ou had to i'm really kevin spacey in disguise. [laughter] not too many people knew that. thank you all very much.

d.t's start with dr. hur i am pleased to see your research was funded by the national institute on aging. you may be aware, maybe you are not aware, that some of my colleagues in the house of representatives hold a different rule -- view of the role of nih. appropriationsed including language that would have precluded nih from supporting any health economics urd did. such as dr. h how important is the support of nih to your work? are there other federal grants you could have applied for? >> it is extremely important. i would say all-important to my work. i am the holder of several

program projects, as well as a center grant. the importance of nih funding comes from its long, primarily from its long-term reach, and also from its multidisciplinary aspect. our study involves cognitive scientists and economists, gerontologists. that kind of assembling of a team is not easy outside of nih 's umbrella. the long-term reach is extremely important. i mentioned that it would not have been possible without the hrs. it began in 1992. i was part of the original team. that sustained funding over many years does not happen outside of nih for this type of research. i mentioned the 1998 study, a similar example where we laid

the foundations for a study published in the new england journal in 1998, pursued over many years. i don't think the kind of study we did would be feasible outside the nih. i don't know of an agency that would support that kind of long-term study as well as the multidisciplinary aspects. >> i appreciate that. we did not do that on this side. i just want to get that out, so people understand that, and hopefully the house will not repeat that again this year. ore, as aative mo former policymaker and a patient , is there anything you personally experienced, anything we need to better educate primary care physicians on? number one. secondly, you spent a long time on this side of the dais.

you were here, what questions would you ask of nih? is there anything we didn't ask, something we didn't cover? i think it is important that people in this country understand that this is a disease that is affecting more and more people. i had it in my family with my dad. surprisedterribly when i was diagnosed. i understand there are genetics involved. something you would not wish on anybody, but it happens, and i hope someday we will find a cure. right now, i think as a nation we need to deal with this disease as best we can, and i the fact youiate are holding this hearing and trying to get more information so you can do the right thing. >> thank you very much. en -- i got to be honest, i was reading this last night very quickly.

charity?"r i forgot the t. >> it is a progressive program. [laughter] > tell us more about how ilarity for charity. >> we chose to focus on young people, because they will be the ones affected by this very soon, and it seems to be almost zero acknowledgment of it in the world of these young people. it seems something that is not a high priority. it seems to be something that people think only happens kind of naturally, or people enter their 90's. i don't think people understand it is not their grandparents being affected, it is their parents being affected, and soon enough it is them being affected. i just saw it first hand and really felt that there was a missing when it

came to informing young people about the reality of this disease. it did not seem like a high priority anywhere, to inform young people about the disease, we should do it. >> i don't know if i will ask ogen any questions. i would be reticent to have a conversation with you as a comedian. i was fully prepared to be shown up by you, but it bothers me that senator harkin is even more funny. [laughter] >> that kevin spacey line was great. >> so i don't know whether i will ask you a question or not. i will start with dr. hurd. the record.his into it is really a question for nih. as i was listening to testimony,

it occurred to me it would be useful to understand whether the prevalence of alzheimer's is increasing, or is that just a factor of us living longer? i don't know the answer to that. i assume it has significant consequences. are you expecting greater cost in the future as a result of longevity? scientifically, on a research basis, has alzheimer's been with us to the degree it is today in the past, but now that we live longer, therefore -- it's not that we are physiologically changing, just we live longer and the evidence exists? i don't know if that's a question for you or not. but before i forget my question, i wanted to make sure i got it. >> i can say something about it. to see ifin our data we saw any trend or prevalence adjusted for age. you are exactly right.

one needs to be quite careful about increased dementia due to increases in aging of the inulation from changes dementia prevalence holding age constant. a veryter would be important finding, because that would teach us that as a see lessn ages we may prevalence than had been forecast. our forecasts are based upon constant prevalence, holding age constant. so the question came up earlier about the age of 90. we estimate around 38.5% of those over the age of 90 are suffering from dementia. we assume that rate would remain constant through 2040. so with the aging of the population, more people reaching those ages will cause the increase in overall population prevalence and increased in cost. we studied the data quite carefully, whether we could see

any change in age specifically to dementia over time, we saw a slight suggestion of that but we were not ready to write a paper on that until we really are quite certain about that. lare was a recent study in ncet, in england, suggesting a decline in age-specific prevalence of dementia, quite a large decline. before we would want to take that and put that into a forecast, we would want to have more examples of that from a wider range of populations. right now, i think, at least from our perspective, we do not see any change in age-specific prevalence. >> we have been generally using the word alzheimer's, and you have been using the word dementia. is there a distinction to be drawn here? >> yes. our study was about dementia,

because that is what our data would support. seven-diagnoses -- sub-diagnoses of alzheimer's, but we did not have enough data to distant which those. this is somewhat outside my area expertise. the majority of dementia is alzheimer's, but typically there will be vascular dementia. at the same time. >> should we expect an related to these ?opics let's we're looking at long-term and the role of health insurance why we don't have a

long-term health insurance market. it is clear that this should be an enjoyable situation, but we don't have a well functioning market for that. .e produce one paper on that >> thank you very much. , i appreciate your work. so my comments are boring, but it is really an expression of gratitude. i appreciate your efforts to educate and to communicate with young people. that is something i have no doubt -- something i might suggest in talking to young people is, we need to instill in young american men and women the desire to instill degrees, education in science and research, medicine -- we need the next generation of doctors on the preceding panel.

i would encourage you, maybe you have comments in that regard, to do everything you can to instill in people the desire to follow the noble calling worthy of a career. >> i would love to do that. but one of the most distressing things, that i learned today, was talking to dr. otis before the panel, just in the waiting room area. he was explaining to me something he touched on here as he was talking. researchunding for the in this area is so sporadic and , and istent that people relate to it as a young person who was pursuing a career, people are discouraged from entering this pursuit, because it is not as financially stable as many of the other diseases that are having great strides taken in conquering them. and i will do my best to encourage it, but again, i asked the government to create a situation financially where

there is the means for the people with ideas to actually do something with it. he told me backstage, there's people that come to us with ideas that could literally be the thing that cares this disease. and we have to tell them, there is a one in six chance of that getting funding. they probably take from that, if i focus on heart disease i will make more money and actually save lives. it is a more glamorous situation financially alzheimer's. just isn't a cool disease, unfortunately. that was honestly one of the most distressing things i heard today. even people whose natural instinct would be to cure this disease, they are discouraged from the financial landscape of this profession. >> you earn a living as a comedian. you are a very effective lobbyist, turning my request -- [laughter]