News

  • Dementia and cancer

    Alzheimer’s Society has teamed up with Leeds Beckett University to create an online forum dedicated to supporting family carers of people affected by both dementia and cancer. “Through the forum we want to provide carers of people with dementia and cancer with a social support network of others who understand the unique challenges they may…

  • Fall in research funding

    A House of Commons debate to highlight the plight of dementia research heard how funding fell by 10% last year, despite a pledge from the government in its 2019 manifesto to double spending on such research. Leading the special debate last week Debbie Abrahams MP, who is co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia,…

  • Mindful, musical walk

    Older people, friends and carers are invited to a “mindful walk” with music and poetry in the Oxford University Parks on Tuesday March 1st.  A joint venture by Creative Dementia Arts Network (CDAN) and the university’s Gardens, Libraries & Museums (GLAM), the walk celebrates the work of Robert Burton, 16th century author of the Anatomy…

  • Loving your neighbour

    Staff at a care home run by the Abbeyfield Society celebrated Valentine’s Day “sharing the love” in their local community by giving out gifts.  Speedwell Court sits at the heart of Southampton’s West End, where staff at the dementia-friendly home for 80 residents have been encouraged to create personalised gifts for older people living nearby. …

  • Chronic health issues

    People with two or more chronic health issues in middle age are more than twice as likely to develop dementia, according to research from University College London published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The more severe the illnesses, the stronger the link seems to be, and for those with more than two conditions the risk…

  • Royally treated

    Professor Dawn Brooker received her MBE, awarded in the 2021 New Year’s Honours, at Windsor Castle last week.  Princess Anne took charge of the MBE investiture, where Dawn reports that the princess was “very happy talking about dementia”.  Dawn is director of the Association of Dementia Studies, University of Worcester, and a long-standing member of…

  • Musings ‘through the fog’

    A new compilation of the thoughts and poetry of Peter Berry has been published in book form under the title Walk with Me: Musings Through the Dementia Fog.  Published on Amazon in December (£10.99), Peter’s words were captured by his friend Deb Bunt, who has spent the last two years jotting them down. The book…

  • Reimagine dementia

    People affected by dementia are joining forces across the globe in a campaign for change called “Let’s Reimagine”, launched by the pressure group Reimagining Dementia: A Creative Coalition for Justice. It aims to challenge the “biomedical and institutional approaches” to dementia policy and practice, which the international coalition says lead to fear, stigma and hopelessness….

  • Seeing the same GP

    Seeing the same GP on every visit to the surgery significantly lowers health complications and emergency hospital admissions for people with dementia, an Exeter University study has found. More than 9,000 patient records were examined and they showed that fewer medicines were prescribed when the person with dementia was consistently seen by the same GP…