Dementia research is "desperately underfunded", says Alzheimer's Research UK

Alzheimer’s Research UK has called for the Government to invest more in dementia research.

The Thomson Reuters report ‘Defeating Dementia’, commissioned by Alzheimer’s Research UK, says that finding a cure can be accelerated by increasing the number of dementia researchers and investment.

Dementia research in Britain is second in the world only to the United States, despite the low number of scientists working in this field, according to Thomson Reuters.

Dr Anne Corbett, research communications manager of the Alzheimer's Society, said: ‘Research into dementia is crucial to finding a cure and helping people live well with dementia.'

'We know that UK dementia researchers punch far above their weight, with some of the best and most dedicated scientists in this field of research working in this country. Yet dementia research is desperately underfunded.’

She added: ‘The Government in the UK currently invests eight times less in dementia research than cancer research. More investment is essential if we want to make a bigger impact and lead the way in understanding the causes of dementia, improving care and working towards a cure.’

Prof Julie Williams, chief scientific adviser to Alzheimer’s Research, called ‘investing in our high-achieving UK scientists the only answer to dementia'.

She said: ‘It is clear from this report that we do not have enough scientists working in the dementia field to meet the colossal challenge it poses to society.’

‘We must not only support our current world-leading scientists, but also encourage new brains into the field, with new ideas and expertise to add to our armoury. We have to remove bureaucratic barriers to research so we can foster the right environment for scientists to thrive.’

Alzheimer’s Research UK believes a national dementia research strategy should encourage ring-fencing of funding for dementia research, greater flexibility and calculated risk taking to foster innovation and boost research to improve disease understanding and accelerate treatment development.

The charity is also calling for a simplification of funding applications, and the removal of unnecessary bureaucracy which comes at the expense of productive research time.

Karen Gurney, manager of bibliometric reporting at Thomson Reuters and analyst of the report, said: ‘This project illuminated an interesting dementia-research landscape in the UK, where this region is clearly playing an influential role despite its size.’

One in three people over 65 will die with dementia. In less than 10 years a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to 1.7m people by 2051.