Laura Rooney, Lead Research Nurse at Alzheimer鈥檚 Society.
Nearly one million people in the UK are estimated to have dementia, the UK鈥檚 biggest killer.
Yet, dementia research progress is stalling as dementia clinical trials struggle to recruit. In 2023/24 only 26 dementia clinical trials were supported by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) and only 328 people took part in these trials. We know that only one in ten people with dementia are offered the opportunity to take part in clinical trials in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Alzheimer鈥檚 Society is investing 拢3 million to establish the first UK-wide team of Dementia Research Nurses. This three-year pilot programme is set to revolutionise the dementia clinical research landscape in the UK 鈥 empowering more people with dementia to join vital clinical trials.
Alzheimer鈥檚 Society UKDTN Research nurses will be embedded in the UK Dementia Trials Network 鈥 a 拢49.9m initiative funded by the UK government which is setting up dedicated early phase clinical trial teams at 20 centres in the NHS.
New treatments
The Research Nurses will work to ensure the chance to take part in research is a core part of dementia care and will work with local clinicians and communities to make clinical trials more accessible regardless of background, location or other factors. This is critical as new treatments must benefit everyone.
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Alzheimer鈥檚 Society is investing 拢3 million to establish the first UK-wide team of Dementia Research Nurses
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Dr Richard Oakley, Associate Director of Research and Innovation at Alzheimer鈥檚 Society said, 鈥淔or too long, there have been staggeringly low numbers of participants in dementia trials and there is an urgent need to address this if real progress is to be made in dementia research.
鈥淥ur new programme will get nurses on the ground recruiting people from as many different communities and backgrounds as we can into clinical trials, providing support throughout their research journey.鈥
Find out more at
Dementia is at a tipping point
Due to transformational breakthroughs, there is hope for a future where dementia will no longer devastate lives. We have to continue the momentum of research and that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e backing the brightest minds and have funded over 拢120 million of world-class dementia research to find the best ways to improve diagnosis, innovate care and develop targeted treatments.
