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Drug trial seeks participants with Lewy body dementia

27 March 2024

A drug trial aimed at treating memory and thinking problems in people with Lewy body dementia is recruiting participants through Join Dementia Research. The COmBining memantine And cholinesterase inhibitors in Lewy body dementia Treatment  (COBALT) trial is looking at whether giving an Alzheimer’s drug to people with Lewy body dementia can help improve their symptoms.  […]

Significant breakthroughs in dementia research

26 February 2024

As Join Dementia Research celebrates 9 years of matching volunteers to dementia studies, it is timely to reflect on the progress dementia research has made both with our help and more broadly in recent years. It is encouraging to know that at any one time, there are around 150 dementia research studies underway in the […]

Remembering Wendy Mitchell

23 February 2024

We would like to pay tribute to our friend Wendy Mitchell who sadly passed away this week. Wendy was known and loved by many for her resilience and for her candid insights into what it is like to live with dementia. She defied the odds by writing three books – including Sunday Times bestsellers – […]

Lewy body dementia studies currently recruiting participants

19 February 2024

Accounting for 10-15 percent of dementia cases in the UK, Lewy body is the second most common form of dementia. However, the recent World Lewy Body Day brought into sharp focus the fact that very little is known about this form of dementia, highlighting the need for more research. Lewy body dementia is caused by […]

Navigating social media use for people living with dementia

31 January 2024

With social media platforms offering an easy way of finding out what is happening locally, it is easy to see the appeal for people living with dementia.  In order for these platforms to be even more effective, new research supported by Join Dementia Research highlights the need for social media guidance specifically for carers of […]

Participants needed for study into whether good oral health can slow memory loss

22 January 2024

A study into whether brushing teeth daily can slow memory loss in people with early stage Alzheimer’s disease is recruiting participants through Join Dementia Research. The MySmile study, led by the University of Bristol and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is recruiting people aged 60 and over with either […]

Research into the link between Alzheimer’s disease and Down’s syndrome

16 January 2024

People with Down’s syndrome have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This is because most people with Down’s syndrome will have clumps of amyloid and tau proteins in their brains by the age of 40 – these are believed to cause Alzheimer’s disease. Two thirds of people with Down’s syndrome develop Alzheimer’s by the […]

People with a dementia diagnosis needed for recently opened studies

7 December 2023

We often have studies specifically for participants with a dementia diagnosis and a few recent ones have just opened up. The studies include using a phone app, physical and memory tests and are supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Vascular mEchanisms in, Stroke, dePression, dementiA, and deliRum: The VESPAR project […]

New studies recruiting carers through Join Dementia Research

5 December 2023

The mental health of family members caring for people with dementia is rightly an area of increasing importance. A number of studies that are looking at precisely this area are recruiting dementia carers through Join Dementia Research. The following studies are all supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). iACT4CARERS A […]

Brain health in over 50s deteriorated during pandemic, research finds

13 November 2023

New NIHR supported research shows that brain health in people over 50 deteriorated more rapidly during the pandemic. This was true regardless of whether they had COVID-19. Researchers analysed brain function tests completed by more than 3,000 UK people aged 50 to 90, many of which were recruited through Join Dementia Research. The results The […]