Ottawa conference looking at turning dementia research into help for sufferers

Sept. 11, 2014 – Leading researchers and industry experts are gathered in Ottawa to discuss how to accelerate the development of new treatments and technologies to help people with dementia, their families and caregivers.

The Canada-France Global Dementia Legacy Event is the second in a series
of four such events stemming from the Summit on Dementia held last
December in London.

Over the next two days, delegates will hear
from global dementia experts, as well as people living with dementia and
their family members.

Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose told
delegates that dementia has a significant impact on individuals,
families and caregivers.

The delegates are to begin the
development of an action framework to address the challenges and
barriers for collaboration between academia and industry.

The
framework will aim to accelerate the transformation of dementia research
into real life products and services to prevent or delay the onset of
dementia and improve the lives of people living with it.

“The impact of dementia on individuals, caregivers, families and national economies are significant,” Ambrose said.

“We
must continue to work together to stem the tide and improve our
understanding of these conditions, to alleviate the suffering it
causes.”