They are calling for a threefold increase in investment into efforts to find new treatments, preventions and cures for Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

The Alzheimer’s Research Trust coordinated campaign has the backing of two other charities: the Alzheimer’s Society and Parkinson’s Disease Society. The letter warns that the UK’s “key weakness is lack of funding, not lack of talent”.

The letter reads:
“Today (21st July) the government will hold a ministerial dementia research summit at the Royal Society. After years of underfunding, it is encouraging that dementia research is receiving serious attention.
 
“Within a generation, 1.4 million people in the UK will live with dementia, costing our economy £50 billion per year.
 
“Yet for every pound spent on dementia care, a fraction of a penny is spent on research into defeating the condition.
 
“Our key weakness is lack of funding, not lack of talent. 
 
“The Government must use this summit to initiate a national dementia research strategy. Most importantly, it must commit to tripling its annual support for dementia research to £96 million within five years.
 
“If the government squanders this opportunity, we will all pay the price.”

Prof Julie Williams, Alzheimer’s Research Trust
Prof Clive Ballard, Alzheimer’s Society
Dr Kieran Breen, Parkinson’s Disease Society
Prof John Hardy FRS, UCL Institute of Neurology
Prof Peter St George-Hyslop FRS, University of Cambridge
Prof Simon Lovestone, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London
Prof Robin Jacoby, University of Oxford
Prof Alistair Burns, University of Manchester
Prof David Brooks, Imperial College London
Prof Seth Love, University of Bristol
and 21 others (listed below)

Prof Julie Williams, the letter’s lead-author and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said:
“Week after week British dementia scientists come a step closer to understanding what causes dementia, and how this might be translated into new treatments. The government has a great opportunity to use today’s summit to formulate a national dementia research strategy, offering hope to the 700,000 people in the UK who live with dementia.

“Despite the current squeeze in public finances, upping our investment in dementia research would be prudent. If we can work out how to delay the onset of dementia by five years, we could halve the number of people who die with the condition.”

Prof John Hardy FRS, Scientific Adviser to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said:
“I signed this letter because dementia research has been neglected for too long. Dementia research receives eight times less government support than cancer research, yet dementia care costs our economy more than cancer, heart disease and stroke combined.

“Spending millions now could save billions later.”

“We are fortunate to have such a strong science base in the UK – and the NHS offers unique opportunities to trial new treatments – yet we are missing the chance to exploit this immense potential.”

Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said:
“The UK is fortunate to play host to the world’s leading dementia scientists. We punch well above our weight in the fight against a disease that afflicts 30 million people worldwide.

“Given the £17 billion annual cost of dementia care, the government cannot afford to get its dementia research policy wrong.”

Today’s dementia research summit, hosted by the health minister Phil Hope and chaired by Baroness Sally Greengross, brings together scores of leading scientists and people affected by dementia as the government reconsiders its approach to dementia research.

The MRC and Department of Health led event is widely seen as a response to criticism from charities, scientists and campaigners that the severe underfunding of dementia research has not been dealt with adequately, despite the enormous increase in dementia in the UK and wordwide. 

Sir Terry Pratchett, Patron of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust who took his concerns to the Prime Minister in November, said:
“There's only two ways it can go: researchers, with as much help you can give them, may come up with something that reduces the effects of this dreadful, inhuman disease, or we will have to face the consequences of our failure to prevent the final years of many of us being a long bad dream. The strain on carers and their support is bad enough now; before very long the effects on the health service and society itself, will be unbearable.”

Dr Kieran Breen, Director of Research and Development at the Parkinson’s Disease Society said:

“We have campaigned vigorously for dementia to get the funding and attention it deserves. For those living with the ‘double whammy’ of Parkinson’s Disease with dementia, and with an ageing population, we know the needs of this group will become greater as time passes.

“For this reason, we are currently investing £1.2 million in a five year dementia research project, but we can’t tackle the problem alone, the Government must take action”.

The 21 further signatories not mentioned above are:
Prof Steve Iliffe, University College London
Prof Rajesh Kalaria, Newcastle University
Prof Lawrence Whalley, University of Aberdeen
Prof Anne Rosser, University of Cardiff
Prof Roy Jones, Research Institute for the Care of Older People (RICE), Bath
Dr Richard Wade-Martins, University of Oxford
Dr Karen Horsburgh, University of Edinburgh
Dr Stephen Gentleman, Imperial College London
Dr Diane Hanger, Kings College London
Prof Kevin Morgan, University of Nottingham
Prof Nigel Hooper, University of Leeds
Prof Nick Fox, University College London
Prof James Fawcett, University of Cambridge
Prof David Smith, Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing (OPTIMA)
Dr Maria Grazia Spillantini, University of Cambridge
Prof Esme Moniz-Cook, University of Hull
Prof James Nicoll, University of Southampton
Prof John Young, Bradford Institute of Health Research
Dr Michel Goedert FRS, University of Cambridge
Dr David Dawbarn, University of Bristol
Prof John O’Brien, Newcastle University