News

The European Prevention of Alzheimer’s Dementia Consortium (EPAD), a project co-funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), announces today the official launch of www.ep-ad.org. The EPAD website is devoted to inform different audiences including the scientific community, companies, people with dementia, families and carers, Alzheimer associations and the general public, about the project’s existence, its progress and its achievements.

Alzheimer’s Research UK has renewed its call for urgent action on dementia as new analysis estimates that one in three people born this year will develop the condition during their lifetime.

The findings, revealed on World Alzheimer’s Day (21 September), foreshadow a looming national health crisis as the UK population ages, and underlines the need for global efforts to develop new treatments to succeed. Read more here.

The dignity, heath and wellbeing of older people and those with disabilities in England are in danger, health and care groups warn. In a joint submission to the Treasury ahead of November's Spending Review, 20 organisations said the care sector was facing a "deepening crisis". They have called for funding to councils to be protected, as is happening with the NHS. Read more here.

Older people feel angry and frustrated about the “myth” that they have been insulated from austerity according to a pre-budget submission by Age Action Ireland. Presenting its pre-budget submission, the charity will say that while the State pension has not been reduced, the impact of cuts and restrictions on other supports has “put a huge strain” on older people, with increasing numbers unable to afford basic goods and services. Read more here.

Research led by Dr. Catriona Murphy (HRB ICE Research Fellow) of TILDA and published in BMJopen examines the extent to which statins are used by adults (50-64 years) at high risk of cardiovascular disease compared to European clinical guidelines.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) recently published a health technology assessment which finds that a national screening programme for atrial fibrillation for over 65s in primary care would likely be cost-effective in Ireland.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) seen in general practice and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Ireland. Screening aims to detect the risk of stroke in an individual as early as possible.

According to a recent report from the Growing Up In Ireland survey, grandparents play a role in looking after one-third of infants in childcare, while an Ipsos MRBI Family Values poll a few months ago showed that grandparents were the most utilised source of childcare (42pc) for working parents.

While growing older does take its toll on the brain, the effect may have been overstated, according to Li Huijie of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Psychology. "Ageing has a negative impact on the brain, but it is not as bad as we thought," he said. That conclusion came from the largest brain scan analysis of the effects of ageing ever carried out.