to fight alzheimer's.pointing the genes that put people at next. next year we are proposing an increase in funding by $80 million because we want scientists to have the tools they need to fight this devastating disease. as glen finishes out his tour, our prayers with him and his family and every family facing this disease. i promise you, i promise you we will keep fighting to make alzheimer's a thing of the past. i believe we'll cure this disease. >> shep: vice president banana. we want to thank glen campbell and his wife for taking their fight on the road and rallying us to take a look inside their private battle with this terrible disease. i'm shepard smith. good night.

to fight alzheimer's.es that put people at next. next year we are proposing an increase in funding by $80 million because we want scientists to have the tools they need to fight this devastating disease. as glen finishes out his tour, our prayers with him and his family and every family facing this disease. i promise you, i promise you we will keep fighting to make alzheimer's a thing of the past. i believe we'll cure this disease. >> shep: vice president banana. we want to thank glen campbell and his wife for taking their fight on the road and rallying us to take a look inside their private battle with this terrible disease. i'm shepard smith. good night. ... rheumatoid arthritis... could mean living th joint damage. help stop the damage before it stops you with humira. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira's proven to helrelieve pain and stop joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections,

alzheimers disease is pitching a perfect game. i don't expect bio medical science to ride to my rescue but i will go out a happy man if we can change the course of this disease for the hundreds of millions of people who will soon be at risk. >> rose: so what should we take from that? it's a powerful lesson his eloquent testimony is as of now alzheimers will win. >> i really think the amount of discoveries that the field has made over the last 30, 35 years really give us hope we will eventually conu! eventuall eventually conquer this and he described these classic legions we talked about and the plaque and you the amoloid plaque and the next arrow you see a neuro fiblarry single. they were we now know they're fundamentally involved in the cause of the disease which we'll talk about more as we go along. >> it gives us hope if we can detect them as they're occurring we may be able to prevent the damage to the brain. you can see these lesions, these ammo loid plaque attack certain regions and they build up in the prefrontal cortex inv

, there was no talk, no discussion about alzheimer. mainly because it was thought to be part of normal aging. so in the 1980s it was a real serious attempt to try to understand this disorder. and the reason why one should be cautiously optimistic is because rational drug discovery, a basic principal of that is that the only way you're really going cure a disease is if you undstand its fundamental molecular mechanism. and we're only starting to shed light on that i would say in the last 10, 20 years. >>ose: so that's really the breakthrough understanding the fundamental molecular mechanisms. >> that's right. and that's taking some time. >> rose: but that's where hope can really enlarge this notion, if you get that molecular mechanism you will understand not only bo alzheimer but a lot of other things. >> or am i way off there. >> when you say other things. >> rose: other deagain raive diseases as you have suggested. >> that's right, that's right there are unifying themes in all deagain rattive issues, the issue of spread is extremely in

the alzheimer's disease family day center costs about $76 a day. however, they do have a scholarship fund for people who can't afford it. if you would like more information, go to jcheyward.com and select hero central. howard is here. >> yeah, my mom was in a dementia and alzheimer's disease place the last few years of her life. great place, great work they are doing. >> great support system. >> yes for everybody. interesting, good job. >>> cold today? >> reporter: yes. we have one of the coldest mornings of our season. heard some 16-degree readings. 18 in newland. lots of sunshine over the next few hours. the late afternoon and early evening clouds are going to start to move in from the west. upper 40s from west to southwest winds .10 miles per hour getting a little bit lighter in the late afternoon. by 9:00 we are in the upper 30s. lows tonight upper 20s and low 30s. there is a chance for snow flurries or snow showers during the overnight hours. culpepper 16 degrees. la plata 16, 21 in cambridge and andrews. 17 at the naval air station and a very

that often progresses to alzheimer's.n the next 40 years, those numbers are expected to triple if scientists do not find effective treatments. >> the bill is passed -- >> reporter: that's why congress recently passed and the president signed the national alzheimer's project act. a plan to look at all aspects of the disease's threats to society and find an effective treatment by 2025. >> this offers us a transformative opportunity to bring alzheimer's disease to a national agenda and a national dialogue. >> reporter: but the reality is there's no way to pay for it. everyone realizes the enormous public health impact of alzheimer's. the labs like this across the country that are working to find a cure are struggle to get the money to pay for it. already alzheimer's gets far less than many other diseases. in the past decade, the percentage of research projects getting funded has dropped drastically. >> most people who work on alzheimer's disease, most scientists, nowadays spend most of their time trying to raise money throug

. >>> the war on alzheimer's. tonight we learn of a promising new discovery that scientists are finding exciting. why some are sounding the alarm about a desperate struggle to find a cure. >>> eyes to the sky. unmanned drones now used to spy overseas, flying high over cities at home. why that has a lot of folks concerned. >>> and lin-saturday. a real-life cinderella story, and it's the talk of the town. captions paid for by nbc-universal television. >>> good evening. reversing a streak of three straight losses there's late word from maine that mitt romney has won that state's republican presidential caucuses. fending off a strong challenge from ron paul, the only other candidate that actively campaigned there. perhaps just as important for romney, he also won a straw poll among influential conservatives gathered for a conference in washington this weekend. and making news at the conference, sarah palin, who emerged to rally the right wing. and we start our coverage in maine where nbc's ron allen has more on the ca

new hope to turn back alzheimers, after surprising test results. >>> the saddest moment in my whole life was when i found her. >> when these local parents found their daughter passed out on the floor, they discovered the dark truth about underage drinking and drugs. >>> liver cancer, central nervous system damage, and increased risk of impotence. >> those are just a few of the long term effects of alcohol abuse by kids. 9 wants you to know what a local couple learned about their teenage daughter when it was almost too late. let it be a wake up call for all of us. >> it's probably the saddest moment in my whole life was when i found her. nothing has ever come close to what that was like. >> emily and greg learned their teenage daughter was drinking when they found the straight a student athlete intoxicated and barely conscience. >> it was just shocking to me how out in the open it really is, and how oblivious the parents are including us. >> they are oblivious no more. >> i think she's 15. >> i think people think that if their kids get good grades, they have friends, they seem relatively

a new clue to how alzheimer's disease may spread. jim axelrod tells us it could lead to new treatments to try to stop it. and anna werner reports something most of us take for granted is growing scarce in the texas drought. >> it's devastating. you don't really know what's going to happen. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. the "c >> pelley: good evening. there is growing talk about a military strike against iran to t op it from developing a nuclear weapon. some of it came from israel's defense minister, and some of it came from u.s. defense secretary leon panetta today. more about all of that now from national security correspondent david martin at the pentagon. >> reporter: defense secretary panetta believes there is strong likelihood israel will strike iran in april, may, or june. that, according to columnist david ignatius, writing shortly after he completed a transatlantic flight with the defense secretary. panetta today did not dispute it. as if to show panetta has cause for concern, i

it would mean you might be able to prevent the spread and progression of alzheimer's which is reallye interesting. >> brains of people with alzheimer's contain tangles of a protein called tau thought to play a role in memory loss. they genetically engineered mice with tau in their brains and mapped its spread over 22 months. as the mice aged, tau spread from cell to cell destroying them as it moved. >> there was no -- an appreciation that tau is this executioner. it's the abnormality that really results in cell death and cell dysfunction. >> study co-author karen duff sauce says the findings raise hope for new therapies that would block tau. >> we are fascinated by the idea that it can spread from cell to cell and that allows us a range of interventions that can catch it as it's leaving one cell into another. >> it could take five more years of research before conclusions can be drawn. one red flag. there have been many approaches to fighting alzheimer's that seem to work in mice but didn't translate to humans. clearly, much more research is needed. but that's not dimming any hope of

what is that, alzheimer's? slowly going mad or what?sing your memory. >> i'm glad i lost some of that. >> reporter: so thankful the music remains, are the fans. ♪ what the world means to me >> the special performance and the rest on the 54th annual grammy awards on wjz 18. >>> an out of this world light show captured by the international space station. the northern lights last month. the dazzling display produced by intense solar activity, rarely seen in the continental united states. >> had to see them from way up there. >> yea . >> extreme northern canada. >>> we had a little rain and snow. another batch in portions of west virginia and kentucky and ohio. we expect to see at least some periods of rain and eventually some snow in the region as well. but now, it's just a little too warm. 39 degrees currently with the dew point above 33. it's not that conducive for snow. northeast winds and falling to the west of us. just called an effort on the grass in a few spots. they're going to see a lot of snow in oakland. a lot warmer southeast.

there's a new clue as to the mystery of how alzheimer's disease spreads in the brain. we wanted to know more about that. so we asked jim axelrod to look into it. >> reporter: researchers have long wondered how alzheimer's ravages the brain, whether it develops independently in different parts of the brain or starts in one area and spreads as suggested in a new study co-authored by dr. scott small of columbia university. >> the spread idea is right, it would mean you might be able to prevent the spread and progression of alzheimer's which is really quite interesting. >> reporter: brains of people with alzheimer's contain tangles of a protein called tau, thought to play a role in memory loss. researchers genetically engineered mice with tau in their brains brains and mapped s spread over 22 months. as the mice aged, tau spread from cell to cell, destroying them as it moved. >> there's no-- an appreciation that tau, at the very least, is this sort of excutioner. it's the abnormality that results in cell death and dysfunction. >> reporter: coauthor karen duff said the find

they met at the alzheimer's village. elderly care nurse peggy is happy about the older couple's young love. the paired is not need much assistance. peggy only needs to make sure their tea is not too hot and their bread is cut into small enough pieces. the alzheimer's village is tucked between two of parma blocks. at first glance, it looks like an education center, but a closer look reveals a beauty salon and sidewalks without curbstones and ample seating. hank is settled in here. he takes care of the birds. he used to live in another home, but he was unhappy there and develop heart problems. his children took him out and brought him here. hank has another girlfriend, a media -- amelia. she is a beast, he jokes, but one with a golden heart and a gift for song. hank lives here with five other companions. corey's illness had reached an advanced stage, while richard is constantly looking for his cigarette lighter. there are no planned meal times here. patients eat whenever they are hungry. richard is even allowed to smoke he

he was diagnosed with alzheimer's disease last year. and you can definitely expect emotions to be running very high. even though glenn's memory is failing him, he's clear he has lived his life exactly as he wanted to. another very special showbiz news maker interview. >> reporter: last summer glen campbell made a stunning announcement. >> what did they diagnose me at? >> alzheimer's. >> what's alzheimer'alzheimer's? >> you start losing your memory. and your ability to reason. ♪ some days i'm so confused, lord ♪ >> reporter: but now after five decades as a music icon, the 75-year-old entertainer says he's calling it a day. in august, campbell released his final album, ghost on the canvas. now he's in the midst of his farewell tour with a backing band that features three of his kids including daughter ashley. >> he looks at me sometimes if he's confused and i'll just smile at him. i just try to make him feel like he's surrounded by people that love him on stage. ♪ i am a line man for the county ♪ >> reporter: the recording cad smi honorin

skin cancer, a drug may be able to treat alzheimer's disease. listen to this.cientists tested a drug called bexerotine on mice and it can reverse the disease inproving memory and brain function. >> the study published in the journal of science find the drug removes mag buildup in the -- plaque buildup in the brain. six hours after they received the drug, eventually dropped by 75% in the brain. scientists at case western university say they'll begin clinical trials on people very soon. alzheimer's patients can their families have been -- and their families have been excited before and ultimately been disappointed. >> many studies, the drugs tested still don't transfer into people but gary nuremberg found a couple who say hope is essential. >> reporter: sometimes you don't need music when you you've been married for 43 years. you can make your own. bob blackwell was a cia analyst and manager for 30 years. that's him with the first president bush who wrote at bob's retirement, bob blackwell is one of the brightest men i've ever worked with. he has his sense of hum

i'm jc hayward, 9news now. >> the alzheimer's family day center charges about $76 per day. is a scholarship fund to help those who can't afford that regular fee. for more information, log on to jchayward.com and click on hero central and find out how you can apply. >>> we thank you for watching 9 news now at 6:00 a.m. on this valentine's day. happy holiday you to. i'm andrea roane. >>> mike-- i'm mike hydeck. we're glad you're here. here's monika samtani. >> and howard has love for all of us. he's sharing his forecast first. >> we're not going to have much in the way of precip. maybe an isolated shower. temperatures low to maybe mid- 50s this afternoon. it's 38 right now in washington. mid-40s by noon. we'll have mostly cloudy skies with just an isolated sprinkle here and there later today and this evening. this morning the radars are lit up but most of this not reaching the ground. the air still kind of dry at

someone with alzheimer's. how promising is this? >> the researchers i've been talking to this afternoon are genuinely excited about this. wa they saw was promising but they offered this huge caveat, this is mice. we have cured alzheimer's in mice before and it didn't work out in humans. this time they really hope there is some promise. they got very dramatic results or one of the reasons. i'm going to show you a picture. when they gave this to mice, their memories improved. i know these pictures look weird. >> within a short amount of time. >> 72 hours. that's a great point. so see how there are a bunch of tissue papers all over that cage on left? the researchers put them there. what a normal mouse does instinctively is put them in a corner and form a nest. alzheimer's mice like the one in the cage on the left don't know what to do with them. they see the tissues and can't remember they're supposed to make a nest. they gave that mouse this drug, this cancer drug, within 72 hours they knew how to make a nest. >

with alzheimer's, people were very embarrassed and self-conscious about alzheimer's. they didn't no that it was a disease like any other disease. there was an embarrassment about it. and there shouldn't have been. and he helped to dispel that. and now, you know, now it's amazing how many people come up and say to me that their mother, their father, their husband, somebody in their family has aul alzheimer's. now they feel free to talk about it. he did a great thing. >> what have you learned about this disease? >> that it's probably the worst disease you can ever have? >> why? >> because you lose contact and you're not able to share. in our case, you're not able to share all those wonderful memories that we have. we had a wonderful life. >> can you have a conversation that makes sense to you with the president? >> not now. no. >> the letter itself, what were the circumstances in which you wrote the letter? were you with him when he wrote it? >> i was with him. we were in the library. he was sitting at the table in the library and he sat down and wrote it. that was it.

. >> the toll alzheimer's takes on care givers.u about a local organization trying to help in today's hero central. pick up an 8 piece meal with 2 sides and 4 biscuits just $15.99. taste why fresh is better. [ man ] 4...3...2...1... mission accomplishe taste why fresh is better. [ man ] 4...3...2...1... mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback right now, get 5% cashback at gas stations. it pays to discover. >>> alzheimer's disease, the sixth leading cause of death in this country, it can't be prevented, cured, or slowed down substantially. the scientists are trying to change that every day. >> care givers suffer emotionally and physically, but in fairfax, there is help. stacey hayward salutes the family day center at today's hero central. >> each day, caretakers bring their loved ones to the alzheimer's family day center for entertainment and social activity. today, allen and charles provided a d

. >>> when we return, another look at the top stories and important findings on the way alzheimer's diseasespread. opening doors for new treatment. [worker 1:] we need to produce our own energy. [announcer:] and, the architect who says... [worker 2:] we need environmental protection. [announcer:] we say, you're right. find out how natural gas answers both at powerincooperation.com. it's bring your happiness to work day. campbell's microwavable soups. in three minutes -- the deliciousness that brings a smile to any monday. campbell's -- it's amazing what soup can do. here's a look at weather. washington, d.c., mostly sunny, 51 degrees. atlanta, sunny as well, 64. going to see sunshine in detroit. 44 there. snow in denver, 30. partly sunny in seattle, 48. >>> here's another look at the top stories. a winter storm is hitting colorado. nearly 2 feet of snow could fall between now and saturday, which would make it one of the heaviest snowstorms in denver's history. and in las vegas, donald trump endorsed mitt romney for the republican presidential nomination. nevada holds caucuses tomorrow. >>>

monitored sleep patterns of 100 healthy volunteers including some with a family history of alzheimer'se study participants to sleep was disrupted at a greater build up in their brains of protein clumps that are a key marker of alzheimer's. the researchers say that it lays the groundwork for investigating whether manipulating a person sleep could slow down or prevent alzheimer's disease. a new study finds in-link between pollution and a woman's brain. the study found that the more pollution woman is exposed to the faster her cognitive skills decline. researchers looked at data from study of nearly 20,000 women between the ages of 70-81 years old then compare the information to data on pollution levels in their home towns. the results show the women who were exposed to more pollution showed a faster decline in memory and thinking skills. the study is published in the archives of internal medicine. lunch break is coming up >>we are getting ready for mardi gras by making king cakes [ woman ] i was living with this all-over pain. a deep, throbbing persistent ache. my doctor diagnosed it as

. >>> a new study says a cancer drug reversed alzheimer's disease in tests on mice.n just six hours, the drug reduced levels of a protein in the brain linked to alzheimer's by 25% and the mice showed an improvement in their mental function. human studies are needed but the results suggest in early stages, alzheimer's could be a reversible disease. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. >>> now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. >>> the dow opens at 12,890 after adding six points yesterday. the s&p was up a point. the nasdaq gained 11. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the teak kay fell 55 points and hong kong, the hang seng dropped 226. >>> thursday's latest upbeat unemployment report could help stocks continue higher today. the number of people seeking unemployment fell near a four-year low last week. a sign strong hiring may continue in the coming months. >>> in europe, an agreement on debt restructuring moves to the greek parliament which must pass unpopula