G8 nations vow to develop cure for dementia by 2025

Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Health minsters gathered at the G8 Dementia Summit in London have committed to developing a cure for dementia by 2025.

This comes on the heels of a report released prior to the summit, which stated that the global number of dementia patients is expected to triple to 135 million by 2050. The G8 nations also called on the World Health Organization to identify dementia as "an increasing threat to global health."

To meet the deadline, the nations agreed to increase funding for research amid warnings that the increased cost of healthcare associated with dementia would affect their healthcare budgets. The WHO estimates that it cost the world $604 billion in 2010 to cope with dementia.

The cost of dementia is high because patients require full-time care as their cognitive functions diminish.

Prime MInister David Cameron of the U.K. urged nations to seriously combat the disease, which he says "steals lives, wrecks families and breaks hearts."

The U.K. government has vowed to increase funding from around £66 million to £132 million by 2025. So far only the U.K. has pledged additional funding.

While health advocates lauded the effort by U.K., they said it was insufficient as compared to funding received for research into other diseases. CAncer research in the U.K. receives £590 million with £267 million coming from the government.

[G8 Dementia Summit] [BBC]