21.09.12
£5.5m investment into dementia research announced
On World Alzheimer’s Day, extra funding and a new campaign to raise awareness of the condition have been announced.
Alzheimer’s Research UK has committed £5.5m investment to new projects, bringing its total commitment to over £20m. 52 new grants have been awarded, aimed at understanding the causes of dementia, improving diagnosis and finding new treatments and preventions.
The Department of Health is also launching a three month campaign to encourage people to talk to family or friends showing early signs of dementia. The campaign aims to raise awareness of symptoms and how to seek help, through a series of TV and print adverts.
Care minister Norman Lamb said: “It’s great to see Alzheimer’s Research UK are also increasing their research funding because the scale of this challenge is immense and it's vital for government, charities and the private sector to continue working together. We welcome this renewed investment and look forward to seeing the fruits of this research.”
Shirley Cramer CBE, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We are proud to announce a record year for investment in research. We are dedicated to defeating dementia and pleased to be supporting world-class research across the UK.
“With the number of people in the UK with dementia estimated at 820,000 and rising, we need increased and sustained funding for research. Funding for dementia research still lags far behind research into other serious diseases and we desperately need the public’s support to make dementia a national priority.”
Jeremy Hunt, health secretary, said: “Our goal is to make this country a world leader in tackling the challenge of dementia. That requires us all to play our part, including being brave enough to start conversations about dementia to get our loved ones the early help we know makes a difference.”
For more information, visit: www.nhs.uk/dementia/Pages/dementia.aspx?WT.mc_id=91103
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