G8 DEMENTIA SUMMIT AGREES ON STEPS AGAINST A 'GREAT KILLER'

An international effort to approach the problem of dementia was agreed upon by government ministers from some of the world's largest national economies, along with researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and Alzheimer's charities this week at the Group of 8 (G8) Dementia Summit.

Speaking at the Summit, held in London December 11, United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister David Cameron said he wanted the meeting to go down in history as "the day that the global fight-back began."

"It doesn't matter whether you're in London or Los Angeles, in rural India or urban Japan - dementia steals lives, it wrecks families, it breaks hearts and that is why all of us here are so utterly determined to beat it," Cameron said. "In past generations, the world came together to take on the great killers. We stood against malaria, cancer, HIV and AIDS and we are just as resolute today."

The summit concluded with the publication of a declaration setting out the agreements reached. These included the following:

·         Set an ambition to identify a cure or a disease-modifying therapy for dementia by 2025;

·         Significantly increase the amount spent on dementia research;

·         Increase the number of people involved in clinical trials and studies on dementia;

·         Establish a new global envoy for dementia innovation, following in the footsteps of global envoys on HIV and AIDS and on climate change;

·         Develop an international action plan for research;

·      Share information and data from dementia research studies across the G8 countries to  work together and get the best return on investment in research; and

·     Encourage open access to all publicly funded dementia research to make data and  results available for further research as quickly as possible.

A recent policy brief released by Alzheimer's Disease International estimated that 44 million people worldwide currently have dementia. With the aging of the population, dementia prevalence will continue to rise to an estimated 135 million by 2050, the meeting heard.

Jeremy Hunt, the UK's Secretary of State for Health, warned that dementia could bankrupt the world's healthcare systems, with a current global cost approaching $600 billion. But he added that the human cost was worse.

Hunt highlighted 3 areas of action:  (1) to redouble efforts to find a drug that can halt or reverse the brain decay caused by dementia, (2) to improve diagnosis rates, and (3) to reduce the stigma around dementia in society.

He noted that less than half of patients with dementia in the UK are diagnosed. "Too many people - even some doctors - think there is no point. But with a diagnosis we can give out medicines that help some people; we can put in place support for families; we can encourage lifestyle change - all of which can mean people live at home happily and healthily for many years longer."

On fighting the stigma, Hunt said the first step to improving treatment was to be able to talk about it normally.

Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association, also addressed the summit and points out in a release that the target of a cure or treatment by 2025 is similar to that of the US National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease.

"The G8 Dementia Summit was an unprecedented opportunity to advance progress internationally - to make Alzheimer's and dementia research a global priority and to promote increased global collaboration," Johns said. "Now we must capitalize on the new connections and increased attention fostered at this landmark event to rid the world of the devastating scourge of Alzheimer's and other dementias."

Additional international meetings to examine the progress of research will be held in the coming years, said Francis Collins, MD, in a release from the Alzheimer's Association, with the next major gathering to be held February 10, 2015, in the United States.

(Source: Medscape Medical News, 13 December 2013)