Research into dementia is undermanned and under-funded even though the number of people affected with the condition costs the economy £23bn each year, according to two Oxford researchers.
University of Oxford scientists Prof Margaret Esiri and PhD student Verena Heise headed to Westminster on Wednesday, January 25, to lobby the Government on investing more money in dementia research.
The pair's trip was timed to coincide with the publication of a report by charity Alzheimer’s Research UK, that warns that the UK’s base of dementia knowledge could be lost unless scientists have better opportunities to enter and remain in the field.
The Defeating Dementia report is based on the views of 120 dementia scientists across the UK, and makes 14 recommendations to the Government on how to create a research environment better suited to the challenges posed by the condition, which affects 6,000 people in Oxford.
Prof Esiri, professor of Neuropathology at Oxford University, said: “Two of the biggest barriers facing dementia scientists at the moment are a lack of funding and a large amount of red tape – especially around tissue-based research. These barriers can really deter scientists from entering the field of dementia research, or staying in it.
“An essential step in getting more support for dementia research must be to improve awareness about why it is needed. We need to see more funding of long-term studies into dementia and more investment of money and resources into human tissue banks – which will be the real key to understanding these diseases.”
