Join Dementia Research News

Alzheimer’s Research UK have launched a new nationwide survey to help shape future treatments for dementia. The online survey needs everyone’s views on the aspects of daily life that are most important, and which you would most like to protect if you were to develop a disease that causes dementia. Take part today.

The ‘Gotcha!’ study is trialling a fun computer-based therapy to help people with dementia remember the names of the people who are important to them.

We’re pleased to announce that over 20,000 study participants have been involved in vital research thanks to Join Dementia Research. We would like to sincerely thank all the volunteers, researchers, champions and partners who have given their time so far. If you haven’t already, please sign up, and if you have, please help us spread the word so we can bring more volunteers and researchers together.

Research supported by University College London is investigating how people living with dementia talk about their diagnosis to others. As part of this study, the team are inviting people with a primary diagnosis of dementia to share their experiences of stigma, by taking part in a questionnaire.

A new study suggests that regular exercise, not smoking, drinking sensibly, and eating a healthy diet have been found to reduce risk of getting dementia even if a person has a higher genetic risk of developing the condition. There are some limitations to the study, but overall the findings are good news. We cannot change our genetics, but this study suggests that regardless of this, changing our lifestyles could help everyone reduce their dementia risk.

Help researchers to improve the guidance and support around driving after a dementia diagnosis by taking part in a survey to share your experience.

Researchers have found that use of anticholinergics was linked with between a 6% and 49% increased risk of dementia, depending on the dose and duration of use. With this type of study, it is always difficult to prove direct cause and effect. Nevertheless, this is an important finding that needs looking into further. But it’s important that people do not stop taking any prescribed medicine without speaking to their doctor. The risk from stopping the medicine may be far higher than any dementia risk.

A couple who have been married for 69 years are taking part in dementia research together after one of them was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Enid was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease – the most common type of dementia – in 2016, aged 88. Now she and her husband Barry are participating in the IDEAL-2 study together.

In 2 linked studies, researchers found that people who said they did puzzles regularly did better on tests of cognitive ability. However, the research does not definitely show that doing puzzles made brains “sharper”. Or that doing puzzles staves off dementia in later life. It could be that people who have better cognitive abilities are more likely to do number or word puzzles in the first place.

In this blog for Dementia Action Week, Professor Martin Rossor reflects on how far dementia research has come, and looks ahead to how healthcare professionals, researchers and the public can take the next step together.