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"There
is not a family in the land that hasn't been affected"
excerpts:
Accompanied by a BBC camera crew, Terry Pratchett visited the
INR
in Los Angeles on August 8th, 2008, to spend the day with Doctor Edward Tobinick, inventor of the novel anti-TNF approach to Alzheimer’s disease which has generated intense scientific interest in 2008.
It was reported that last month, Mr. Pratchett continued his quest by visiting the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street to warn the Government that the UK faces a "Tsunami of Alzheimer's" disease unless research funding is increased. The purpose of the visit was to hand over a petition signed by 20,000 members of the public urging the Prime Minister to boost funds for the study of the disease.
Pratchett said he had received a positive response from politicians, but hopes to see more concrete action. "I've spoken to a lot of Alzheimer's experts around the world and they talk about a Tsunami of Alzheimer's over the next 20 years as the 'baby boomers' get old enough to be in line for the disease.
"Nearly everybody I have talked to around the country talks about caring for their mother or father with the disease, so it seems there is not a family in the land that hasn't been affected, yet it is like a huge secret everybody shares."
"A comparatively small amount of money and action now will prevent an awful lot of terrible stress and expense in the decades to come."
The Alzheimer's Research Trust estimates that 700,000 people in the UK are affected by dementia and related diseases - more than the total number of cancer sufferers.
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