; Government Pledge Follows Author's Appeal for Research Funding

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Care Services Minister Paul Burstow yesterday announced a multi- million pound boost in funding for the fight against dementia after a high profile campaign led by West author, Sir Terry Pratchett. The cash will be used for research into the condition that will affect more than a million Britons within 10 years, including more than 100,000 in the South West. Mr Burstow launched a 'route map for dementia research' which pledges up to Pounds 20 million over five years for four new biomedical research units. It also commits the Medical Research Council to increase funding for neurodegeneration research by 10 per cent to Pounds 150 million by 2015.

The blueprint boosts the number of experts in the dementia field through new academic clinical fellowships and will ensure more patients and carers get involved in research. The Government's advisory group on dementia research has identified specific areas most urgently in need of attention. They include research on the value of prevention and public health programmes, the influence of genes and the environment in the development of the disease, alternatives to antipsychotic drugs, stem cell research and a better understanding of how the brain is affected by dementia. Mr Burstow said: "Dementia is one of the biggest challenges we face.

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; Government Pledge Follows Author's Appeal for Research Funding

It's an indiscriminate disease that cruelly chips away at our loved ones, leaving those l...

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