I am in Helsinki, Finland, for a few days this week, sitting on a review panel for the 'Joint Programme - Neurodegenerative Disease Research.' It is the first time that this programme has involved patients in its review process for funding research so it feels a bit of a milestone moment. This, after twelve months, of … Continue reading Patients and researchers – sparring partners not hostile combatants
dementia
Blog: Alzheimer’s should be more than a footnote in Mrs Thatcher’s story #Thatcher
Alzheimer's disease is getting a reputation for its merciless pursuit of the political elite of the 70s and 80s. Think Harold Wilson, Ronald Reagan and now Mrs Thatcher. One hopes that some good may come of it; a doubling of the efforts to find a cure would be a most suitable legacy. Of their passing from this … Continue reading Blog: Alzheimer’s should be more than a footnote in Mrs Thatcher’s story #Thatcher
Blog: How the painter’s brush can help us see the person behind Alzheimer’s disease
We were decluttering the flat this morning and I came across this picture. It had been on my boys' bedroom wall until it was replaced by a Crystal Palace FC 2013 calendar a few weeks ago! In the late nineties I was living in the United States. Off and on, I volunteered for the Cincinnati … Continue reading Blog: How the painter’s brush can help us see the person behind Alzheimer’s disease
World Alzheimer’s Day – from timebomb to tsunami (PLoS an update on patient information and placebos)
Expect lots of news pieces this week about Alzheimer's disease ahead of World Alzheimer's Day (WAD) which takes place on Friday 21st September. This is one of the better ones I have seen, from the Observer yesterday. Interesting how the language has changed although the message has not - what was once called a timebomb … Continue reading World Alzheimer’s Day – from timebomb to tsunami (PLoS an update on patient information and placebos)
How evidence empowers consumers…from the Cochrane Collaboration
The Cochrane Collaboration has just launched a new website which explains how systematic reviews work, and the ways in which consumers can use the Cochrane reviews to inform decisions about their own health. Entitled 'YourHealthNet' there are some very honest and candid appraisals of the usefulness of Cochrane reviews, how the evidence can be both empowering but also … Continue reading How evidence empowers consumers…from the Cochrane Collaboration
From crisis to challenge: PM to spell out new dementia plan including research boost
This morning's news bulletins are full of stories trailing the Prime Minister's speech in London later today, when he is expected to launch a national challenge on dementia - from accelerating research funding and setting up a new academic science centre, to establishing a national screening programme and encouraging people to donate their brains to research. … Continue reading From crisis to challenge: PM to spell out new dementia plan including research boost
Care Homes Research: New toolkit produced to ENRICH lives
Given the concerns over the quality of care home provision in the UK, it is essential that we invest in research that will improve care-giving in these settings for the future. The Dementia and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Network (DeNDRoN) have just launched a new toolkit (website) entitled 'Enabling Research in Care Homes (ENRICH)' to help promote and … Continue reading Care Homes Research: New toolkit produced to ENRICH lives
The ALOIS Community: carers and the public decoding Alzheimer’s disease
On Tuesday I tweeted from the invoNET workshop I was Chairing, about some of the fabulous studies of public involvement in research being showcased during the day. I highly recommend you visit the website invoNET to discover more about - and join - the burgeoning evidence and community in this field. As is typical on such days, … Continue reading The ALOIS Community: carers and the public decoding Alzheimer’s disease
'Health research cuts'
Today's 'exclusive' in the The Times online headlined 'Cancer research at risk in scramble for care funds' has caused understandable concern and outrage. It is an interesting piece based on comments made to The Times by the Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham MP. But some background may help us get a better perspective on … Continue reading 'Health research cuts'
Sums and summitry
Yesterday 30 top scientists called for a tripling of Government expenditure on research into dementia - you may have heard some of them being interviewed on news programmes during the day. Their call was timed to coincide with a day-long summit organised by the Department of Health and Medical Research Council (MRC) which brought together … Continue reading Sums and summitry
Simon Denegri's Lay Review 