Olympian Ron Hill facing ‘biggest challenge of his life’ after dementia revelation
Olympian and marathon legend Ron Hill says he is ready to fight ‘the biggest challenge of my life’ after it was revealed he is suffering from dementia. The 79-year-old has vowed to battle the disease and not let it ‘get him down.’ “I can’t be ashamed of it because I haven’t done anything to deserve […]
£2.5m boost for ‘dementia friendly’ Scottish communities
Scottish charity the Life Changes Trust has doubled its national investment in communities that are dementia friendly, with a second wave of funding of £2.5 million. This brings their total investment to £5 million in the last three years. According to the Life Changes Trust, communities that are inclusive and dementia friendly play a crucial […]
Dementia sufferers forced to fight for free NHS care
A report by the Public Accounts Committee says that although NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding is aimed at providing help to people with severe healthcare needs, they often aren’t aware of the funds available. What’s more, patients are sometimes unable to have assistance with the funding process, with some people dying before a decision on […]
Table Tennis Scotland becomes dementia friendly
Table Tennis Scotland has been awarded a funding boost of £45,000 to become dementia friendly. The money comes from the Life Changes Trust, who are contributing £35,000 and Sportscotland who have pledged £10,000. Table Tennis Scotland previously ran two pilot projects in Dundee and Haddington to see if there would be interest in sessions for […]
Hearing loss could be a dementia risk factor
New research from Trinity College, Dublin has suggested that hearing loss could be a risk factor for dementia or cognitive decline. Researchers from the college analysed the results of 36 different studies that looked into hearing loss and dementia, involving over 20,000 people. The study found that age-related hearing loss had a small, but significant, […]
Stephen Fry urges public to donate to dementia research
Actor Stephen Fry has urged the public to donate money to dementia research to promote the relaunch of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s ‘Santa Forgot’ animation, which features the well-known actor narrating a story about a Santa Claus with dementia. The animation, created by the award-winning Aardman Animations team, imagines a world where Santa starts forgetting things […]
Insomnia drug increases risk of death in dementia sufferers
A study by the University of Eastern Finland has found that there is an increased risk of death in people suffering with dementia when a drug to help combat insomnia and anxiety. Benzodiazepines has traditionally been used as a sedative, with researchers claiming the increased risk of death could be as high as 40 per […]
Dementia drink trials offer mixed results of benefits
A new medical drink available in the UK, which claims to slow down the onset of dementia, has drawn mixed results in the latest series of clinical trials. Souvenaid, on sale throughout the UK in strawberry and vanilla flavours, has been approved as food for medical purposes and is readily available from Nutricia and pharmacies […]
Dementia ‘hotspots’ map launched by Alzheimer’s UK
Alzheimer’s Research UK has launched two interactive maps, designed to show the impact of dementia across the UK. People can now see for the first time the impact it has had in their local area in comparison to the rest of the country, with the south coast being among the worst affected. Topping the list […]
UCL: People with dementia fail to get specialist care
People suffering in the late stages of dementia receive most of their healthcare from GPs or emergency services, rather than from specialist health care professionals, despite them having complex needs, researchers at UCL have found. While those with advanced dementia often suffered chronic pain and psychiatric symptoms that persisted over many months, they had little […]
