New funding announced for dementia research projects

The Department of Health has announced that 21 pioneering dementia research projects are to benefit from a fresh injection of funding.

A total of 22 million pounds will be awarded by the National Institute of Health Research to the various initiatives, which cover all areas of scientific activity relevant to dementia, spanning the fields of care, cure and cause.

Projects include a trial of the blood pressure drug Losartan to complement current treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, a study to assess how long dementia patients can live safely and independently in their own homes and a project to accelerate diagnosis rates.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "It is vital that we can translate the excellent work happening in our laboratories across the country into treatments that can help people live well with dementia today, whilst ultimately working towards finding a cure.”

More than 670,000 people in England are currently diagnosed with the dementia and this figure is set to double in the next 30 years.

In October 2012, prime minister David Cameron addressed pharmaceutical industry leaders and biotech experts to discuss the need for international collaboration as the UK seeks to become a world leader in dementia research.