Dementia Research lacks funding in Wales
We’ve all been there. Decisively walked into a room looking for something and almost instantly forgotten why or what you were in there for.
Or you’re having a chat and mid-flow suddenly lose your trail of thought and forget a specific word you want to use to describe something. It can be very frustrating.
But can you imagine living with constant memory loss and confusion? Or hitting a blank void every time you try to conjure someones name, an everyday object or place?
Figures from the Alzheimer Research Trust revealed this week that 820 thousand people suffer from Dementia in the UK, 37,000 in Wales alone.
I spoke with scientists at Cardiff University who say in order find a cure, remedy or learn more about this disease, more funding is needed for research.
The Welsh Assembly Government say they are committed to supporting dementia care but this does not necessarily mean more funding for research.
Alzheimer Research Trust predict Alzheimer’s sufferers in Britain will double by 2050.
Rebecca Wood, head of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said the true economic impact of dementia “has been ignored for too long.”
Dementia now costs the UK economy twice as much as cancer but gets a fraction of the funding.
On a more personal note, 25 million people, or 42% of the UK population, are affected by dementia through knowing a close friend or family member with the condition.
