Why fighting dementia needs to become national priority

We are part of a population that is living longer, healthier lives.

There are 1.7 million more people aged 65 and over living in the UK compared with 25 years ago. But while most of us imagine that growing older will be just as rich and rewarding as the rest of our lives, there is a shadow lurking in many people’s minds – the fear of developing dementia. Of all the diseases that can ruin old age, this is the one that worries people the most.

Given such concerns, you might think it was at top of the list when it comes to funding, but Alzheimer’s Research UK says that for every scientist working on dementia in the UK, six work on cancer.

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Prof Chris Peers is a dementia researcher at Leeds University and co-ordinator for Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Yorkshire Network.

He says that although progress has been made, more investment is required. “If we are to find effective treatments that are so urgently needed, dementia research must be made a national priority. Dementia is not a normal part of ageing – it is caused by brain diseases that we can beat, but we need more investment in the research that will give us answers.”

Prof Peers says Yorkshire is an important research centre, with about 20 scientists studying Alzheimer’s Disease, each with their own team of up to eight researchers. “We’re unusual in Yorkshire in that we have such a broad spectrum of research and expertise, ranging all the way from patient studies to individual molecules. In Leeds, we primarily conduct basic laboratory research, looking at molecular and cellular processes in Alzheimer’s Disease. Experts in Hull study neuropsychology in Alzheimer’s patients, and in Sheffield there are neuropathologists studying brain structure and function in patients.”

But as with any complex and debilitating condition, finding effective treatments takes time. “It’s perhaps been slower than people would have predicted 10 or 15 years ago, but bit by bit we are making progress,” he says. “One research group has found an important association between Alzheimer’s and the prion protein, which is associated in people’s minds with mad cow disease, but is in fact a widespread, naturally-occurring protein.

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“Another key area of research looks at the association between increased levels of Alzheimer’s and hypoxic episodes (where the brain is deprived of oxygen). If a person has been hypoxic they can be up to 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s and we are just beginning to understand why this is the case, so these are important developments.”

Prof Peers says although the UK is at the forefront of biological research in the world, this can only be sustained with more investment. “Health research in general is under-funded in the UK, and Alzheimer’s research is shockingly under-funded: compared to the amounts invested in heart disease and cancer it is extremely small.

“I don’t understand the reasons for this because the cost implications to the nation are much higher than those for cancer and heart disease combined, since it can be such a long-lasting disease and requires intense care and support for sufferers.”

He says the annual cost of dementia to the UK is around £23bn, greater than the combined cost burden of cancer (£12bn) and heart disease (£8bn), but that the amount spent on research per patient is less than five per cent of that spent on those with heart disease or cancer. “Economically, this just doesn’t make sense.”

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Research, he says, depends entirely on investment. “If we had more money we would get the answers quicker. Research into cancer has increased dramatically through increased financial support in the last 20 years so that now many kinds of cancer can be treated effectively and we need the same to happen with Alzheimer’s research.

“If nothing changes, the annual £23bn bill we face will grow rapidly and significantly in the near future. We are an ageing population where more and more people are living over 65, which is when we tend to start to become particularly vulnerable to dementia. The Government recognises this when it comes to pension payments, but it doesn’t in terms of how it plans to tackle the problem of increasing dementia cases. This issue is going to get bigger and it’s going to get bigger more quickly than people might expect, hence it’s imperative we get more investment.”

For more information about dementia, or to make a donation visit www.alzheimersresearchuk.org or call 01223 843 899.