G8 pledge dementia cure or treatment by 2025

Health Ministers meeting for the G8 summit in London have announced their commitment to finding a treatment or cure for dementia as soon as 2025, with the UK announcing it aims to increase research funding to £132m by 2025.

Health Ministers meeting for the G8 summit in London have announced their commitment to finding a treatment or cure for dementia as soon as 2025, with the UK announcing it aims to increase research funding to £132m by 2025.

With the number of dementia sufferers across the globe expected to reach 135 million by 2050 and dementia care costing the global economy $600 billion, there’s concern than some countries will be unable to cope in future.

Global effort

UK Prime Minister David Cameron urged charities, industry and governments to commit more funding to research, saying: “If we are to beat dementia, we must work globally, with nations, business and scientists from all over the world working together, as we did with cancer, HIV and AIDS.”

A new brain scan for dementia will be available for patients with complex symptoms. Initially offered at Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust in London, it will help to identify if a patient is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, and will be rolled out at other centres across the UK.

Invest in the future

Other funding mentioned at the summit included:

• The Alzheimer’s Society’s commitment to spend at least £100m on research in the next decade
• A £3m ‘Dementia Consortium’ which will see Alzheimer’s Research UK work with two pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs

Whilst Health Ministers state this is a ‘big ambition’, the increased funding for research into a treatment or cure is the best possible news for those affected by dementia.