Dementia Research 'Underfunded'

Dementia research in the UK remains more underfunded than other serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, an Alzheimer charity warned today, it has been claimed.

It costs the health service five times more to treat a dementia patient than the average person suffer from cancer.

Despite this, a mere fraction of the amount spent on cancer research is given to dementia studies.

Dementia affects 820,000 people in the UK, costing the economy £23 billion every year.

Research funding into the disease is twelve times lower than that for cancer research, a report from the Alzheimer's Research Trust found.

The trust commissioned University of Oxford researcher to carry out the Dementia 2010 investigation, which reveals the impact of dementia on the UK’s society and economy is higher than ever.

The news comes a year after the government published its National Dementia Strategy. The Alzheimer’s Research Trust, the UK's leading dementia research charity, warned that "dementia is the greatest medical challenge of the 21st century".

The Alzheimer’s Research Trust's Dementia 2010 found that each dementia patient costs the British economy more than the average salary and five times more than the average cancer patient.

For every £1m in health and social care costs for the disease, £129,269 is spent on cancer research and just £4,882 on dementia research.

Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "The true impact of dementia has been ignored for too long. The UK's dementia crisis is worse than we feared. This report shows that dementia is the greatest medical challenge of the 21st century."

Howeve, Care Services Minister Phil Hope said that by next year the government would be investing nearly £1bn in health research.

"This money is awarded to the best quality research for any health condition, including dementia.

"I have set up a new ministerial group which will drive forward research into the causes, cure and care of dementia and help dementia researchers get more access to funding. This group will hold its first meeting later this month.

"I have also just appointed a new National Clinical Director for Dementia, Professor Alistair Burns, to provide leadership across the whole dementia strategy and help bring up standards of dementia care across the country."

(PR/BMcC)