Dr Claire Surr: Dementia sufferers still need help as we wait for cure

Over recent years, we have seen a swell of interest in the issue of dementia and how the country is going to be able to meet the needs of a growing population living with the condition.

This led to the introduction of a national Dementia Strategy for England in 2009 which set out 18 objectives for helping people to live well with dementia, followed by the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia in 2012.

The dementia challenge promised to drive improvements in health and social care, to create dementia friendly communities and for dementia research.

This latest study conducted by researchers working within a laboratory funded by the Medical Research Council, which receives its funding from the Government, demonstrates what may be possible with appropriate investment.

While this study is being hailed as a breakthrough, it is important to keep this in perspective. The research team who have conducted the study have pointed out that the compound developed, which can prevent neurodegeneration in mice with a specific type of progressive brain disorder, is not something that can be used in humans.

The mice in the study had prion disease which is more genetically similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans so it is unclear whether the
results would also apply to treating Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative
diseases.

The drug also produced side effects in the mice including diabetes and weight loss.

Many potential drugs never make it to market because they produce intolerable side effects which potentially causes serious harm.

In addition, not all types of dementia have the same causes and so a cure for Alzheimer’s disease might not work for Vascular dementia.

Nevertheless, what this study indicates is that preventing brain deterioration by administering a drug is possible, giving researchers and drug companies a target to aim at.

While it isn’t clear at this stage if safe drugs of this type can be developed, and which diseases they may be able to treat, it gives hope that this may be possible.

Bringing a new drug to market, and therefore widely available to patients through the NHS, is a costly and time consuming process.

This usually takes over 10 years of development and thorough testing before it is licensed for
use.

So, even if this is one step closer to being discovered, it will not be of benefit to the hundreds of thousands of people currently living with dementia in the UK, or those who will go onto develop the condition over the next decade.

Here at the University of Bradford, the Bradford Dementia Group understands the experience of living with dementia. All our research, education, training and practice development we carry out has the perspective of people living with dementia and their families at its heart.

This is a focus on our degree programme content, direct training and consultancy work we carry out with providers.

We are a recognised centre of excellence in dementia and have received major research funding to carry out a range of studies.

These have included the benefits of cognitive rehabilitation for people living in care homes, the use of video to support inclusion and well-being, 
ways to prevent avoidable 
hospital admissions, and intervention to help care home staff to deliver more person-centred care.

I hope that when we are in a position to report the findings of these studies, they will gain as much interest as this latest breakthrough has received.

In the light of this exciting development in a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, we must not lose sight of the other important aspects of the Prime Minister’s Challenge on dementia, which reflect the real needs of people today; improving the quality of health and social care, ensuring our communities are places where dementia is understood and where people with the condition and their families can feel supported, accepted and included.

Investment in research on treatments and approaches that can help improve the lives of those with dementia and their carers, must continue to be funded by the government so that the care we deliver improves with the UK and globally.

*Dr Claire Surr is Reader in Dementia Studies at the Bradford Dementia Group, School of Health Studies, University of Bradford.