University develops new research for future Alzheimer's diagnosis
University of Sunderland academics have collaborated with Alzheimer's specialists to host a ‘Meet the Experts’ event to share knowledge on a potential diagnosis tool and future specialist care.
The event saw Dr Heather Yemm and Dr Joe Butler, from the University of Sunderland, unitewithacademicsfromother regional universities to help shareknowledgeandexpertise on the subject of specialist dementianursingcareandanew tool to diagnose people with Alzheimer’s.
Visitors to the event took part in ‘Our Wonderful Brain’ interactive activities on the way the brain works and had the opportunity to speak to Alzheimer’s Research UK and university academics on the new diagnostic technique and futurecareplansattheLifeSciences’ Centre, Newcastle.
Dr Yemm, a Research FellowattheUniversityofSunderland’s Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute, was commissioned to run an evaluation of the Admiral Nurse Service which is funded by Dementia UK.
The Admiral Nurse pilot scheme will run for three years and is hosted by South Tyneside Health Collaborative, with support from Dementia UK and the North East & North Cumbria Integrated Care Board. Dr Yemm’s role in this scheme is to assess the strength, impact and effectiveness of the service which provides care to those with the disease.
She said: “This event which allowedustoshowcasetheimportantresearchthatwe’redoing to understand how best to support people living with dementia and their families and wider communities.
“Manypeoplekindlyshared their own stories and experiences of dementia, and it was great to see how positive people were about the research we’re engaged with and about supporting people living with dementia.”
The event comes after recent studies have shown that one in every three people born this year will go on to be diagnosedwithAlzheimer’sduring their lifetime.
A new early detection tool that was also discussed at the eventisasimplecomputertask revolving around memorizing openingopportunitiesforselfadministered tests without a researcher present.
Dr Joe Butler is a senior lecturer in psychology and NIHR Research Fellow, also based in the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute. He is involved in studying new tools which potentially help with early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
He said: “We have recently developed a short computer
task where the person has to memorisecolouredshapesand takes about 15 minutes to complete. Previous research has shownthatthetaskcanidentifyindividualswithAlzheimer’s disease, so to have developed a
versionwhichpeoplecanaccurately self-administer.”
There are estimated to be 944,000peoplewithdementia living in the UK with this number expected to rise to 1.1million by 2030.
This early detection and quality care for individuals diagnosedwithAlzheimer'sisset tobringlife-changingdevelopment for over a million people in the UK and their families in thenextdecade,theuniversity said.
Thisdevelopmentincludes the University of Sunderland’s Helen McArdle Research Institute which is hoping for the new tool to change the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.