Dementia research takes a major step forward
New figures launched to coincide with Dementia Awareness Week show a six-fold increase in the number of NHS patients taking part in vital research into dementia.
According to figures issued by DeNDRoN (the National Institute for Health Research, Clinical Research Network for dementia and neurodegenerative diseases), only 800 people per year were recruited into clinical studies back in 2006. But in the past year this has increased to nearly 5,000 patients.
Dementia affects an estimated 750,000 people in the UK, but until recently, relatively little research was undertaken into this clinical area, which was generally perceived as a low priority for researchers.
As well as having a smaller number of research specialists, identifying patients for trials has been an issue in the past – partly due to the fact that dementia patients are diagnosed in a broad variety of settings, not just hospitals, where patient recruitment for clinical studies has traditionally been centred. Also, as many people with dementia also suffer mobility problems, it was often very difficult to travel to one of the relatively few locations running a dementia/neurodegenerative clinical trial.
However, this picture is changing, with DeNDRoN reporting that 227 NHS sites are now engaged in dementia studies, compared to just 65 sites in 2006.
Martin Rossor, Director of DeNDRoN explains:
“Up until a few years ago, there wasn’t much of an infrastructure for research into dementia, which was really holding things back. However, we have been able to put around 70 specially trained staff into the NHS - specifically to focus on carrying out clinical trials in dementia - and it is making a huge difference.”
Martin Rossor continues: “We are also specifically supporting studies into Huntington’s Disease – one of the commonest forms of dementia. This includes helping NHS patients to access one of the largest clinical research studies in Europe into Huntington’s Disease, which looks at the effectiveness of different drugs on key biochemical markers. We hope this study will, in time, provide some important clues about how to slow the progression of the disease.”
The news about better infrastructure for dementia clinical trials comes on the back of the new coalition government’s pledge to do more in this area of research – a move which is welcomed by the Alzheimer’s Society.
Says Clive Ballard, Director of Research at the Alzheimer’s Society, “It is an exciting time for dementia research, and this progress can’t come soon enough. One in three people over 65 will die with dementia, which is why it is so important that research is made a priority. We’re looking forward to the next stage of developments.”