The National Institute for Health Research has announced that the number of volunteers willing to take part in dementia research has shoot up to 60 percent over the last year. This percentage translates to about 22,000 individuals signing up for about 100 different studies in the UK, which aim to further discover more details about the crippling neurodegenerative disease.
The UK government aims to come up with a cure for dementia by 2025. Through the significant rise of volunteers, it looks like the scientists will not disappoint as they now have more enhanced support and willing individuals to take part in their journey to find preventive and curative medical solutions for dementia. At the moment, 5.5 percent of people with dementia are already part of the clinical trials - that is more than half of the government's target of 10 percent by 2020.
"Volunteers are essential to our battle against the disease and I'm delighted that so many people - with and without dementia - are coming forward to participate in ground-breaking new trials," says George Freeman, minister for life sciences. There is still a lot more to work on but with the support they are getting, the race is on, he adds.
Being diagnosed with dementia involves not only the person but the entire family as well, says Chris Roberts, a north Wales resident who has been participating in genetic research of Alzheimer's disease. The key is to find hope, which may be found in such clinical studies. Volunteering to be a part of a research signifies that one is doing something worthwhile and positive, he adds. For him, he is leaving something that can help other people, if not himself.
"We are delighted that more people affected by dementia are being given the opportunity to take part in vital research," says Dr Doug Brown, director of research and development at Alzheimer's Society. The increase in volunteers does not only boost dementia research and enhance the discovery of solutions, it also enables individuals to be more educated about the condition and get further support.
In the UK, about 850,000 individuals are affected by dementia at present. With this number, the estimated number of people diagnosed with dementia by 2051 is about two million.
Dementia is actually a collection of signs and symptoms due to neurodegenerative processes. People with dementia usually have short-term memory problems such as failing to remember the placement of things and difficulty in keeping track with bills payment. Most cases of dementia are progressive; hence the clinical manifestations initiate in mild forms then gradually become more pronounced as time passes.
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