A LEADING dementia researcher has revealed a cure is possible in the next five to 10 years if funding is increased.
Dr Bernadette McGuinness, a consultant geriatrician with the Belfast Trust and senior lecturer at Queen's University Belfast, yesterday urged people to sign up to the Alzheimer’s Society’s Memory Walk, which is due to take place in Belfast next month.
Dr McGuinness, who sees at first hand the effect dementia has on the more than 20,000 people in Northern Ireland living with the condition at her Memory Clinics, also leads research into finding a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
Dementia is now the UK’s biggest killer, with someone developing it every three minutes.
Research has found that 850,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia. By 2021, one million people will be living with it. This will double by 2051.
Dr McGuinness yesterday called for increased funding.
"I would be hopeful that we will find a cure for dementia, there's lots more funding being pumped into the area and there are lots more researchers who have come on board from different backgrounds who are very interested and committed to finding a cure," she said.
"I understand that a lot of the clinical trials recently have been negative and that’s been very disappointing, but with more and more funding and with more people interested in the area we can only succeed in future I think in finding a cure."
Bernadine McCrory, Northern Ireland Director for Alzheimer’s Society, said investment in dementia research "still trails far behind other health conditions".
"In the hour-and-a-half it takes to complete your average Memory Walk, 30 people will develop dementia in the UK," she said.
"Every penny you raise through Memory Walk will help Alzheimer’s Society find a cure, improve care and support people affected by dementia. It’s time for us to make a real difference."
The Belfast Memory Walk will take place at Stormont Estate on Saturday, September 7. Further details are available at www.memorywalk.org.uk.
