The long-awaited strategy importantly highlights that dementia is a condition which affects the whole person and aims to accelerate efforts to address its mental health symptoms and impact on well being.
Dr Sonya Miller, Head of Medical Affairs at TauRx, gives us her thoughts on the strategy and the impact it will have on the thousands affected by this disease across the nation:
“I think it's a really positive step forward. There is truth in the term ‘everybody's story’ - dementia is incredibly complex, it affects anyone and everyone, and it doesn’t discriminate.
“It’s great to see that pre- and post-diagnosis support is a key focus, and that those affected can be involved in the design and delivery of their own support. The key is to ensure more people can live well in their communities, while ensuring access to care from a skilled team of primary care givers where and when it’s needed.
“The strategy also commits to tackling stigma, something I’m passionate about. There is guidance around accessibility of support services, but this is still in its infancy; the stigma associated with dementia is partially responsible for that.
“The term ‘dementia’ itself can be terrifying for people. It's a scary diagnosis but it doesn't need to be, that's part of the re-education and support that people need, and I hope this strategy will take us some way in achieving that.”
Dementia is a leading cause of death in the UK and Alzheimer’s disease is responsible for 50-75% of cases. Current estimates indicate that every three seconds someone in the world develops dementia and three quarters don’t receive a diagnosis. The urgency towards finding an effective treatment and enabling an efficient diagnostic pathway continues to grow.
Find out more about TauRx’s work to research and develop a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease which targets tau, here.
Dr Sonya Miller was recently interviewed by the Scotsman to share more about TauRx’s work and response to the Scottish Government’s Dementia Strategy. Read the piece, here.
