Cambridge Biomedical Campus Dementia Week

It is not until you speak to a relative of someone with dementia that you fully realise the impact of diseases of the brain. They will explain how a loved one, once full of life is stripped of all that they once knew about themselves, piece by piece – memory by memory.

What is left is often a very different person, with new behaviours, attitudes and temperament – wholly unaware of what they once were. They often become unrecognisable from the individual they once were but that does not stop those who are caring for and loving them, retaining the memories of who they once were.  

As the world’s population ages, the challenge of the challenges of diseases of the brain become more pressing. At the moment more than 850,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia and it is estimated of children born this year, 1 in 3 will develop dementia in their lifetime.

This is all because the brain is an incredibly complex organ. It controls the way we move, when we laugh and tells us when to cry but it is also the part of our bodies which we know least about. As modern medicine and treatments help us to live longer, it is diseases of the brain which are now becoming the focus of medical research.

This is the why this week we are focusing on the work which is taking place on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Significant resources, great minds and new technology are being brought to bear to help those with dementia but also with the aim of preventing the disease.

Throughout the next five days we will show how university researchers are investigating the causes of dementia, learn how charities are funding new initiatives and see how hospitals are helping those who have the disease.

The challenge for the future will not be easily solved but by working together and sharing ideas, we stand a better chance of finding the answers to help generations in the future.

Dementia: Catching the memory thief

Dementia: Catching the memory thief

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