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September is World Alzheimer’s Month and this time each year, people from around the world come together to raise awareness about dementia. September 2021 marks the tenth year of this important global awareness campaign. Rates of dementia are increasing; every three minutes, someone in the UK develops dementia. There are currently 850,000 people in the […]

On 1 October 2021, I will be stepping down as NIHR National Director for Dementia Research. One of my roles was to set up the Join Dementia Research service, to facilitate those living with dementia, their carers and the public to engage in research and to support dementia researchers to recruit individuals into research. Over […]

Did you know that many of the studies on Join Dementia Research are open to anyone over 18 without a dementia diagnosis? These tend to be online studies, which can be done at home, at a time to suit you. Because these studies are keen to attract a large number of people they run for […]

The beneficial aspects of listening to music such as calming anxiety, reducing stress and inducing a relaxing effect, are being tested in a new study for people living with dementia. The context As well as experiencing cognitive decline, people with dementia often also suffer from ‘neuropsychiatric symptoms’ such as depression, irritability, anxiety and hallucinations. In […]

The possible link between air pollution and dementia has been a focus of several studies and at the recent US Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC), the topic came to the fore again.  New findings Whilst previous reports have linked long-term air pollution exposure with accumulation of Alzheimer’s disease-related brain plaques, a series of new reports […]

Have you noticed a different look and feel to the Join Dementia Research website? We’ve listened to your feedback and as part of a programme of development, we’ve introduced a new streamlined homepage so that the information you need can be accessed more easily.  Key updates Dedicated areas for volunteers, carers and professionals help to […]

An opinion piece by Professor Alistair Burns,  National Clinical Director for Dementia at NHS England and Professor Martin Rossor, NIHR National Director for Dementia Research.   During the lockdowns, many of the activities that we know are good for our brain health such as socialising, exercising and other cultural experiences were made more difficult. This […]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has this week approved the first drug since 2003 to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Aducanumab, created by US pharmaceutical company Biogen, is an antibody designed to target amyloid, a protein that builds up in the brains of people with early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Whereas other existing treatments help […]

Every year we ask our Join Dementia Research volunteers to tell us about their experiences of the service via a questionnaire. This helps us to understand what we are doing well and identify areas for improvement. Engagement Despite the challenges of 2020 it was fantastic to see that many of our volunteers are still engaged […]

As the Neuroscience Team Leader at MAC Clinical Research; an honorary researcher at Lancaster University and a community event organiser, Dr Penny Foulds explains why Join Dementia Research is central to what she does. Personal experience “I have personal experience of dementia in my family” explains Penny, “my grandparents developed Alzheimer’s disease and it was […]