Research

2024: Looking back at an exciting year for research at Alzheimer’s Society

At the end of this year, we understand different risk factors for dementia and potential treatments more deeply than ever before.

Researchers working on the Lancet Commission study, part-funded by Alzheimer’s Society, have identified two new risk factors for dementia: untreated vision loss and high cholesterol. This adds to the 12 other risk factors identified in the 2020 version of Lancet Commission, which include smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, or hypertension.  

And, while two of the new drugs trialled for treatment have not been recommend for use on the NHS, they still represent a hugely positive breakthrough. We're on the right track.

We were also kept busy with the launch of new, pioneering initiatives and partnerships that will making a real difference for people living with dementia, now and in the future. 

Here is a flavour of some of the exciting things we did at Alzheimer's Society in 2024:

Investing millions in dementia research

Each year we fuel new research advancements in dementia by funding cutting-edge projects through our core research grants. These projects aim to understand more about the diseases that cause dementia and improve diagnoses, treatments and care.

This year, our research investment broke the Alzheimer’s Society’s record for investment into brand-new research in one year. 

We invested £15.8 million into brand new dementia research, the largest amount we’ve ever invested in one year. This included funding three new Doctoral Training Centres, focusing their efforts into training a total of 85 new dementia researchers over 5 years, whilst answering important research questions.  

We are creating communities of PhD students working on dementia research and supporting these talented researchers to build a career in the field. But our work doesn’t stop there. Later in the year, we will be opening applications for our next round of core funding. We hope it will be bigger and better than ever - and will fund even more ground-breaking dementia research. 

We will be continuing to invest in ground-breaking research in 2025. 

Transforming dementia diagnosis with blood biomarkers

The progress of our game changing Blood Biomarker Challenge - in partnership with Alzheimer’s Research UK and the National Institute of Health and Care Research - took another exciting leap forward in 2024. We were delighted to announce that two world class research teams will be generating the evidence needed to bring blood tests for dementia diagnosis into the NHS within the next 5 years. The project is possible thanks to a £5m donation from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

The teams are led by outstanding researchers seeking to transform the future of dementia diagnosis. Professor Vanessa Raymont leads the READ-OUT project with Dementias Platform UK researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Professor Jonathan Schott and Dr Ashvini Keshavan at University College London lead the ADAPT team.

In 2025 we hope to see the first patients entering trials for both projects with recruitment set to take place across the UK.   

The latest in new Alzheimer’s disease drugs 

For the first time, clinical trials have proven that Alzheimer’s disease can be slowed with the use of drugs by tackling the underlying causes.

 In 2024, we saw the first ever disease-modifying treatments approved for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Unfortunately, the drugs, donanemab and lecanemab, have not been recommended for use on the NHS. 

We are still awaiting final decisions from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE).  

Beyond these two drugs, this year a company called TauRX applied to the MHRA for the approval of their drug hydromethylthionine mesylate (HMTM). The drug is aimed at treating mild cognitive impairment or mild to moderate dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease. We expect to hear whether the MHRA will approve this drug by the end of 2025. 

There are also more than 20 other treatments in late-stage clinical trials, some of which we are expecting to hear news about in the new year so watch this space for more big news! 

Alzheimer’s Society Research Nurses to transform taking part in research 

In 2024, we announced investment into a £3m pilot Dementia Research Nurses programme, which will ensure more people are given the opportunity to participate in dementia clinical trials.  

Embedded at Dementia Trial Network sites across the UK, 10 dedicated dementia research nurses will support people to be informed about opportunity to take part in research and keep them up to date with the progress of the studies they’re part of. Our Alzheimer’s Society Research Nurses will also focus on working with a range of local groups and initiatives to increase recruitment of people from diverse backgrounds into trials so we can ensure new treatments will benefit everybody.  

In April 2024, Alzheimer’s Society has appointed Laura Rooney as the Lead Nurse responsible for the delivery of the programme.  

“It’s the opportunity to build something on a national level and give far more people the chance to take part in research.”

The recruitment of dementia research nurses will begin in 2025, and we cannot wait for all of the expertise and support they will bring into dementia research. 

Addressing inequalities around healthcare and dementia 

We know that dementia affects everyone differently and the inequalities experienced by people with dementia and their carers are widespread. We commissioned research with the Office of Health Economics to help us understand the scale of the problem. Our research identified over 100 inequalities and so we knew we had to take action.  

Our Dementia Healthcare Inequalities Initiative, announced in 2024offers researchers up to £2 million over 4 years to implement big, bold ideas which will result in a fairer deal for people living with dementia. In 2025, we look forward to telling you more about which researchers have been chosen to carry out this crucial work and how they will be bringing change for everyone affected by dementia.  
 

Funding new technology with the Longitude Prize on Dementia 

People living with dementia need creative tech which can offer a better quality of life and drastically change the experience of living with dementia. The Longitude Prize on Dementia is a £4 million global competition, driving innovative technologies which will help people with dementia stay independent for longer.  

Spearheaded by Alzheimer's Society, working with Innovate UK and delivered by Challenge Works, it has resulted in game-changing solutions from around the world.

In October, the five finalists were announced on BBC's The One Show. The innovations include smart glasses, a non-invasive monitor in the home, fall detection and a wearable assistant which links to various discreet sensors.

The products and solutions in the final five offer exactly that. Each of the five finalists has been awarded £300,000 to further develop their solutions. In 2026, one will secure the top £1 million prize.   
 

Supporting innovation that helps people living with dementia 

Our Accelerator Programme is designed to support innovators to boost their new dementia products and bring them to market, delivering help and hope to people living with dementia. 

The 11-month programme offers up to £100,000 of investment along with business support and access to members of our Innovation Collective – a community of experts by experience and experts by profession across the dementia and innovation worlds.

Previous successes include Sibstar, a debit card and app to help families living with dementia to safely manage their everyday spending, and Jelly Drops, a sugar-free treat, made of 95% water and added electrolytes to increase fluid intake.

Our current partners, who we have been supporting in 2024 into 2025 are Tasty Spoon and Memory Lane Games. The Tasty Spoon itself is a chargeable spoon which stimulates tastebuds with a mild electrical current. Bringing back someone with dementia’s sense of taste could help them to enjoy food again and improve their nutrition.

Memory Lane Games is a simple, intuitive gaming app. Their work with the Accelerator Programme is to develop a model to bring the game into hospitals and care settings, so that volunteers can use it as a way to meaningfully engage with people living with dementia.  

Both have benefitted from working with a focus group of people living with dementia and professionals in healthcare and business who are part of our Innovation Collective.

In 2025 we will announce our new partners for 2025/26. The application review process is currently underway, with a team of people with lived experience of dementia involved in reviewing all applications.