An initiative from the Government's National Dementia Strategy, the summit will examine research into cause, cure and care, highlighting gaps in knowledge and new opportunities for the future. A report will then be produced to help shape the future dementia research agenda.

Attendees will look at ways of building on existing investments in this area including the Dementias and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Network (DeNDRoN) funded by the National Institute of Health Research and the recent £30M MRC and Wellcome Trust Joint Call for research proposals in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Phil Hope MP, Minister of State for Care Services, said:
"One million people will develop dementia in the next ten years. Our National Dementia Strategy will help people live well with dementia by improving diagnosis, care and support, but research is the key to developing new treatments, transforming care and ultimately finding a cure for this devastating condition.

Today is a vital step towards a more co-ordinated approach to dementia research. The Government is already investing strongly in research. We now all need to work together to improve the quality of dementia proposals and improve access to this investment. I look forward to receiving the report from today's important event.'"

MRC Chief Executive Sir Leszek Borysiewicz said:

"Following on from the MRC Strategic Review of Neurodegeneration, this is an opportunity to bring together experts from the whole spectrum of dementia research and key stakeholders to help the funders set priorities for the future research agenda. Recent MRC initiatives in this area will provide the necessary platform for future research, by bringing together new research consortia and support for brain banking and imaging. MRC has also been playing a leading role in developing the new EU initiative in neurodegeneration and dementia."

Dame Professor Sally Davies, Director General of DH Research and Development Directorate, said:

"The DH is very pleased to be jointly hosting this important event with the MRC. We have made significant investment in research for dementia and related conditions over the years and the Summit will help to ensure that the research we commission continues to improve the quality of care provided for people with dementia and their families".

The Dementia Research Summit will coincide with a report that will address European collaboration on dementia research. On 22 July the European Commission will confirm EU participation in a joint research programme on neurodegeneration and in particular Alzheimer's. This is the first joint initiative of this type and the UK Government and Medical Research Council are committed to playing an active role in the programme.

Key Stats

- 700,000 people have dementia in the UK and this number will rise to … in
- One in three people of 65 will die with a form of dementia
- There are 15,000 people under the age of 65 with dementia
- Dementia costs the economy £17 billion a year
- Delaying the onset of dementia by five years would halve the number of deaths from the condition, saving 30,000 lives a year

The Dementia Strategy can be found at www.dh.gov.uk/dementia.

Dementia is one of the main causes of disability in later life, ahead of some cancers, cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Department of Health

The first ever National Dementia Strategy is a landmark document that will transform the quality of dementia care. It sets out initiatives designed to make the lives of people with dementia, their carers and families better and more fulfilled.

Published on 3 February 2009, the National Dementia Strategy is backed by £150 million over the first two years. It will increase awareness of dementia, ensure early diagnosis and intervention and radically improve the quality of care that people with the condition receive. Proposals include the introduction of a dementia specialist into every general hospital and care home and for mental health teams to assess people with dementia.

The NHS support for degenerative neurological disorder research and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) spend on dementia research amounted to over £22m in 2007/8. In addition, £20m has been invested in the national research network on dementia and neurodegenerative disease (DeNDRoN). This will increase recruitment to trials, improve the speed and quality of research, strengthen research collaboration between the NHS and industry and ensure the better integration of research and patient care.

More recently, a further £6m has been awarded for dementia related research under the NIHR Programme Grants scheme. These prestigious awards will support major studies of interventions to enhance life with dementia in home and residential settings. Two of the five proposals supported under a targeted call by the NIHR's Health Technology Assessment Programme this year are also focused on dementia. These include studies of interventions to promote the mental health of carers of people living with dementia and the use of the Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor Donepezil for people with Parkinson's Disease. The DH's Policy Research Programme has also recently confirmed funding of a major evaluation to underpin the implementation of the National Dementia Strategy (NDS). This will examine the impact of pilot schemes for the peer support networks and dementia advisor service announced in the NDS.

EU Joint Programming Initiative

The MRC is a leading partner in the development of Joint Programming, a European strategy aimed at co-ordinating national efforts in neurodegenerative research across the biomedical and social spectrum. The strategy will be formulated during the latter half of 2009 and will aim to:

- Speed up developments in neurodegenerative disease research and drive best practice

- Develop a Strategic Research Agenda, establishing medium to long-term research needs and objectives in the area of neurodegenerative diseases.
- Improve data sharing between research centres across the EU
- Increase the pool of people available for epidemiological and clinical studies
- Compare and improve care delivery systems across EU member states.

MRC Strategic Review of Neurodegeneration

In February 2008, the MRC convened a small review group to undertake a strategic review of neurodegeneration. The aim of the review was to formulate strategic advice to the MRC Neurosciences and Mental Health Board on the changes in health need, new scientific opportunities and the most important research and training questions that the MRC/UK could address. The review concluded that the highest priority should be to deliver innovative mechanistic and pathological research across the broad spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders over the next five years, as a basis for a substantial increase in translational research in the longer term, addressing both early diagnosis and intervention. The report made three central recommendations:

- To strengthen biological research into disease origins and mechanisms
- To improve training and critical mass
- To provide support for a strategic co-coordinated network that would address the key barriers to progress in this field

MRC-Wellcome Trust Joint Call in Neurodegeneration

At the beginning of October 2008, MRC and Wellcome Trust launched a £30M joint call for collaborative and innovative interdisciplinary proposals in neurodegeneration. The focus of the call is on advancing understanding of biological processes underpinning neurodegenerative diseases.

The aims of call are to:

- Create consortia comprising leading UK groups - can include international researchers and pharma.
- Facilitate use of interdisciplinary approaches to address key gaps in our knowledge of the biological basis of neurodegenerative diseases.
- Catalyse development of new approaches for effective diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.

Source
Medical Research Council