Alzheimer's Research Trust uncovers worrying figures

A new report released today (February 3rd) by the Alzheimer's Research Trust has revealed that the impact of dementia on the UK's society and economy is much higher than previously thought.

Commissioned by the charity and carried out by the University of Oxford, Dementia 2010 shows that dementia research is also massively underfunded compared to other leading concerns, including cancer and heart disease.

It was concluded that dementia affects 820,000 people - up from the previous official estimate of 700,000 - and costs the UK economy around £23 billion per year, despite dementia research funding being a whopping 12 times lower than that for cancer.

Rebecca Wood, the chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said of the research: "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."

The Alzheimer's Research Trust currently does not receive any government funding and instead relies on a range of resources for support, including individual donations from people, companies and charitable trusts, as well as fundraising initiatives.

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