Dementia Friends reach over 1 million.

The Alzheimer Society have announced that their target to have one million Dementia Friends has now been achieved. The government has also announced that £300 million will be put into research to discover the causes of dementia and consider possible treatments. This will place the UK at the leading edge of research into this terrible disease. In England alone there are some 720,000 suffering from the symptom of dementia. Presently there is no known treatment. Clearly early diagnosis is vital. Nevertheless there are things we can do to ward off the dreaded disease - namely regular exercise at least 30 minutes 5 x a week, good diet, not drink too much and definitely not smoking. My aunt suffered in the last three years of her life from dementia. She was until then a lively and interesting elderly lady. She died aged 88 not knowing the day of the week. So I have a personal interest in the issue. Lets hope that in the next few years the fear of dementia will lessen as we find constructive ways of treating this illness. If we do'n it may well bankrupt the NHS in the longer term.