Otley MP backs author's call for Alzheimer's funding (From Wharfedale Observer)

Otley MP backs author's call for Alzheimer's funding

8:36am Sunday 20th April 2008

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MP Greg Mulholland is backing best selling author Terry Pratchett's calls for increased funding for research into Alzheimer's disease.

Mr Mulholland, whose constituency includes Otley, Bramhope and Pool-in-Wharfedale, says not enough is being done to try to find a cure for the condition, despite more than 700,000 people in the UK living with dementia.

Mr Pratchett, author of the globally popular Discworld series of comic fantasy novels, was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's diseaseand has donated a million dollars (around £500,000) to research into the disease.

Mr Mulholland said: "Dementia affects hundreds of thousands of people in the UK, yet it is still fundamentally misunderstood and receives scant attention, despite the devastating impact that it can have on the lives of those who suffer from it.

"While great advances in our understanding of Alzheimer's disease and the new approaches to treatment and prevention are being made here in the UK, it is still nowhere near enough. We are at real risk of failing sufferers of Alzheimer's, particularly vulnerable older people, and leaving them marginalised and ignored.

"So I am very happy to back Terry, and the Alzheimer's Research Trust, in calling for an increase in funding so that we can promote research and understanding of this vitally important issue."

Chief Executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, Rebecca Wood, said: "I welcome Mr Mulholland taking the lead on trumpeting dementia research funding by sponsoring this motion.

"We are delighted MPs have chosen to support the campaign by Terry Pratchett and the Alzheimer's Research Trust to increase research funding for dementia: a disease that 700,000 people in the UK live with.

"Research is the only way to beat this disease and help people like Terry - to prevent them losing their thinking skills and keep them doing the things they love.

"For every person with Alzheimer's, £11 is spent each year on UK research compared with £289 for each cancer patient, even though similar numbers of people are affected."

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