CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Obama administration's plan to fight Alzheimer's disease aims to harness the nation's expertise to find real treatments by 2025 and improve the care and treatment of the 5.1 million Americans already afflicted with the brain-wasting disease.

The draft plan, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday, makes treatment a top priority, but it also focuses on the burden the disease places on families and caregivers.

"Alzheimer's disease burdens an increasing number of our nation's elders and their families, and it is essential that we confront the challenge it poses to our public health," President Barack Obama said in a statement marking the plan's unveiling.

The White House earlier this month said it would divert an additional $50 million this year from HHS projects to Alzheimer's research, and seek an extra $80 million in new research funding in fiscal 2013.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-rt-us-usa-alzheimers-plantre81l28a-20120222,0,3684961.story

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital on Saturday to be treated for a "long-standing abdominal complaint", intensifying concerns about the health of the 93-year-old anti-apartheid leader.

The government said Mandela needed specialist medical treatment although the ruling African National Congress (ANC) said his admission was not an emergency and did not involve surgery.

"There's no need for panic," ANC spokesman Keith Khoza toldSouth Africa's e-News channel. "It was not an emergency admission. It was planned."

An ANC source told Reuters that Mandela, who is popularly known by his clan name, Madiba, was "not looking serious".

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-safrica-mandelatre81o07y-20120225,0,871495.story

LONDON (Reuters) - Oscar-winning British actress Judi Dench has lost part of her eyesight and struggles to read film scripts or see people sitting directly in front of her.

The 77-year-old, who plays the spy chief M in the James Bond films, said she has developed an age-related condition called macular degeneration.

In an interview with Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper on Saturday, Dench said it had affected her sight in both eyes, although she has received treatment which she hopes will prevent further damage.

"I can't read scripts anymore because of the trouble with my eyes," Dench was quoted as saying. "Somebody comes in and reads them to me, like telling me a story.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rt-us-britain-denchtre81h0l8-20120218,0,6700689.story