Category Archives: dementia

Cure for dementia will be found in 7 years says Jeremy Hunt

July 6, 2013   Alzheimer’s, Cancer, Carers, dementia, health

BRITISH scientists will find a cure for dementia in just seven years, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has declared.

By: Jo Willey

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt

Not only will this save lives, it will also save the NHS by slashing ­billions of pounds a year from the cost of caring for those with the ­condition.

Mr Hunt said: “Finding drugs that can halt or cure dementia may seem a distant prospect now but there are drugs companies that think they will have a cure for dementia by 2020.”

He said the answer lay in DNA mapping, claiming it could unlock a “treasure trove” of information to help tackle diseases from dementia to cancer.

Plans are already under way for Britain to be the first country in the world to map the personal DNA code – known as a genome – of up to 100,000 patients.

The project would be the “medical equivalent of the invention of the internet in terms of its significance”, Mr Hunt told the annual conference of the Local Government Association in Manchester.

He added: “For the UK, this is a very big opportunity, because we are the country that first cracked what DNA was back in 1953.

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Robots to help people with dementia in Western Isles

July 5, 2013   Alzheimer’s, Carers, dementia, health, Independent living, internet, Scotland, Social care

NHS Western Isles is putting robots into the homes of people with dementia as part of a pilot scheme

 

Members of the Remodem project team with the Giraff robot
Backers of the plan believe robots can replace the human touch

NHS Western Isles is putting robots into the homes of people with dementia as part of a pilot scheme to help them to continue to live independently.
A relative or carer – potentially hundreds of miles away – can drive the machine around the house to check that everything is all right.
The pair can also have a chat through a two-way video call system.
The Giraff robots are 1.5m (4ft 11in) tall with wheels, and a TV screen instead of a head.
A relative or carer can call up the Giraff with a computer from any location. Their face will appear on the screen allowing them to chat to the other person.

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Active brain 'keeps dementia at bay'

July 4, 2013   Alzheimer’s, Carers, dementia

Keeping mentally active by reading books or writing letters helps protect the brain in old age, a study suggests.

By Helen Briggs BBC News

 Can the brain build up a memory reserve?

A lifetime of mental challenges leads to slower cognitive decline after factoring out dementia’s impact on the brain, US researchers say.

The study, published in Neurology, adds weight to the idea that dementia onset can be delayed by lifestyle factors.

An Alzheimer’s charity said the best way to lower dementia risk was to eat a balanced diet, exercise and stay slim.

In a US study, 294 people over the age of 55 were given tests that measured memory and thinking, every year for about six years until their deaths.

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