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People with dementia are being given the opportunity to lead and manage research into the disease, with the help of £700,000 from the National Lottery.
The ground-breaking new project Dementia Enquirers will give people with dementia the chance to undertake their own research into the condition, rather than just being participants. The project will work with DEEP, a UK-wide network of more than a hundred community groups and Innovations in Dementia. They will be able to identify research priorities and plan and carry out their own research.
It envisages using university researchers as advisors or with specified roles within the projects. People involved in DEEP will be supported and trained to capture and share their findings in a creative way such as through film, music, poetry and photography.
Rachael Litherland, director of Innovations in Dementia, said: “We are so proud to have been awarded this National Lottery grant, and excited to be undertaking such ground-breaking work. We are confident that the project can influence the prevailing approaches in research – while bringing new respect for the skills, expertise and resilience of those who are living with dementia.”
Joe Ferns, UK funding director at the Big Lottery Fund, said: “We’re delighted to be funding this project, which puts people with experience of living with dementia at the heart of research into the condition. Thanks to National Lottery players, this important issue is being tackled in a way which helps people to feel more in control of their lives.”
For more information visit the Homecare website
The symptoms of dementia can include:
Memory problems – People with dementia might have problems retaining new information. They might get lost in previously familiar places and may struggle with names. Relatives might notice the person seems increasingly forgetful, misplacing things regularly. However, we all forget a name or face once in a while and this is nothing to worry about. If it happens on a frequent basis, it’s advisable to visit the GP who can check why this may be happening.
Cognitive ability, i.e. processing information – People with dementia may have difficulty with time and place, for example, getting up in the middle of the night to go to work, even though they’re retired. Also their concentration could be affected. There may be a difficulty when shopping with choosing the items and then paying for them. For some people with dementia the ability to reason and make decisions may also be affected. Some people with dementia get a sense of restlessness and prefer to keep moving than sit still; others may be reluctant to take part in activities they used to enjoy.
Communication – People with dementia may repeat themselves often or have difficulty finding the right words. Reading and writing might become challenging. They might experience changes in personality and behaviour, mood swings, anxiety and depression. People with dementia can lose interest in seeing others socially. Following and engaging in conversation can be difficult and tiring, and so a formerly outgoing person might become quieter and more introverted. Their self-confidence might be affected.
Dementia can be seen as a combination of one, or all of the above symptoms. If you or someone you know is experiencing one or more of these symptoms, which have been occurring for a while and are progressively getting worse, then please arrange a visit to the GP. There are many other reasons someone might be experiencing confusion or memory problems, so it is best to get them checked out and treated if necessary.
To find out more please visit the Dementia UK website.
Daffodils grown by a Welsh sheep farmer could be used to help more than 225,000 patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Kevin Stephens’ flowers produce unusually high amounts of galantamine, which can slow down the progress of the devastating disease.
Scientists believe the daffodils, grown in the Black Mountains in Wales, have more of it due to the stress they are placed under having to endure harsh winters at 1,200ft.
The unfavourable conditions cause them to flower much later than regular species, which produce very little quantities of the chemical.
Mr Stephens, 51, has spent six years developing a method of growing and harvesting the daffodils to extract galantamine for use in Alzheimer’s drugs.
Four dementia scientists have shared this year’s 1m Euro brain prize for pivotal work that has changed our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease.
Profs John Hardy, Bart De Strooper, Michel Goedert, based in the UK, and Prof Christian Haass, from Germany, unpicked key protein changes that lead to this most common type of dementia.
On getting the award, Prof Hardy said he hoped new treatments could be found.
He is donating some of his prize money to care for Alzheimer’s patients.
Much of the drug discovery research that’s done today builds on their pioneering work, looking for ways to stop the build-up of damaging proteins, such as amyloid and tau.
Alzheimer’s and other dementias affect 50 million people around the world, and none of the treatments currently available can stop the disease.
For more on this story visit the BBC website
