Dementia research projects that the Alzheimer’s Society is involved with have been awarded nearly £14m by the government today.

The Department of Health today announced £22m to fund research into dementia, spread over 21 projects. The funding was awarded through the National Institute of Health Research.

Projects which the Alzheimer’s Society is helping to deliver include:

• A £2m study by academics at the University of East Anglia to radically improve hospital care for people with dementia.
• £1.4m in funding for a University of Bristol study into using a commonly available drug for high blood pressure as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
• £2.4m towards research into earlier diagnosis and rehabilitation of those with Alzheimer’s disease led by Bangor University.
• £900,000 funding into improving management of pain for people with dementia.

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society said: “Dementia is the greatest health and social care challenge of our time and defeating it needs to be a priority for society. As it stands, there are currently more clinical trials into hay fever than there are into some of the most common forms of dementia.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “The UK has a firm ambition to become a world leader in dementia research. It is home to some of the world’s best dementia researchers and specialist research facilities, and this government is committed to supporting them.”

In November the Alzheimer’s Society launched a £2.4m government-backed scheme to educate members of the public about dementia.

At the same time the government also published a six-month progress report on the Prime Minister’s Challenge of Dementia initiative – improving research is one of the three challenges that the programme aims to tackle.