Doctors 'should continue to follow dementia research'
Tuesday 8th November 2011
Those in hospital doctor jobs should continue to follow dementia research despite the fact a cure is unlikely to be created in the nearby future, an expert has advised.
Professor June Andrews, director of the Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling, has claimed that a cure for dementia is unlikely to be created in her lifetime but that this should not be the sole focus.
She said that while some hugely talented people are researching causes and cures, essential work is also being conducted into how best to care for those with the condition.
The fact that scientists are still a long way from successfully creating a cure for the condition makes it especially important that dementia research covers other areas as well.
Professor Andrews warned against the assumption that finding treatments is the end-goal, highlighting the fact that dementia is in itself a symptom of a wide range of different causes and that each of these needs to be tackled before the condition as a whole can be cured.
She claimed that doctors are "fed up" with the condition as there have been few developments in creating a cure, but added this is the wrong attitude to have.
"What's the point of talking about it? … The answer is you can care for it and, if you can care for it, you can make [someone's] life an awful lot better," Professor Andrews asserted.
In addition, she highlighted the fact that discoveries such as the causes of vascular dementia have also allowed those in hospital doctor jobs to advise people on steps they can take to reduce their susceptibility to the disease.
Earlier this month, the National Audit Office warned that dementia costs the health and social care services approximately £8.2 billion per year, but claimed that £80 million could be realised in savings if hospital care for patients with the condition were improved.
Posted by Alex Franklin Stortford
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