Dementia research should be a priority, Scots scientists say

SCOTTISH scientists are backing calls to make dementia research a greater priority, amid concern that it is not receiving enough funding.

A new poll by Alzheimer's Research UK shows people in Scotland feared dementia more than cancer and even more than death. But despite public concern, the charity said the research response to the "dementia crisis" was still crippled by underfunding.

The YouGov poll of more than 2,000 people in the UK found that 37 per cent of respondents in Scotland said they feared dementia most, with 23 per cent fearing cancer most and 12 per cent fearing death most.

However, the charity said that not enough research was being done to find new treatments for dementia. It said a new report showed for every UK research scientist working on dementia, six were working on cancer.

Dementia research funding lagged far behind spending on other serious diseases, yet dementia cost the UK economy 23 billion a year, more than cancer (12bn) and heart disease (8bn) combined, the charity said.

Dr Donald Mowat of Aberdeen University, a research co-ordinator for Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "Dementia researchers in Aberdeen and across the UK are making real progress and … important breakthroughs."