§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what research the Government have commissioned into Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in the last three years; [87500]
(2) what money the Government have provided for research into Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in each of the last five years; what assessment he has made of the need for further research into dementia; and if he will make a statement. [87499]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Government fund health and medical research in a number of ways.
The Department funds research and development to support their work on policy development and evaluation in health and social care. The Department also manages the National Health Service research and development levy which is used to support research and development of relevance to the National Health Service in hospitals, general practice and other health care settings, and to fund the NHS research and development programme. In addition, the Medical Research Council (MRC)—which receives most of its income via grant-in-aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry—funds medical research as part of the Government's funding of the science and engineering base.
Priorities for departmental research and development support for the development of policy are determined through discussion with policy colleagues, the Departmental Research Committee and Ministers. In the NHS research and development programme, priorities take account of widespread consultation with those using, delivering and managing services, within a framework overseen by the Central Research and Development Committee for the NHS. In all cases, priorities for our budgets reflect analysis of the burden of disease, potential benefits and Government priorities, and take account of the responsibilities and work of other funders.
The MRC has recently made a number of substantial investments in the area of dementia. A new centre Development Grant in Brain Ageing has been awarded in partnership with the University of Newcastle and will examine the pathology and diagnosis of dementia—this will commence next year. In addition, the Multicentre Study of Cognitive Function on Ageing is an on-going major 10 year study funded in collaboration with Department of Health.
In addition the MRC has supported 53 projects on Alzheimer's/dementia in the last three years. Copies of the list have been placed in the Library. MRC spend has been as follows:
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Year £000 1994–95 3,795 1995–96 5,703 1996–97 4,780 1997–98 5,549 1998–99 6,050 Through the policy research programme and the NHS research and development programme the Department has invested the following amounts approximately on research into Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia (excluding research related to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Parkinson's disease) over the last five years:
Year £000 1994–95 236 1995–96 225 1996–97 149 1997–98 198 1998–99 287 Management of much of the research supported by the NHS research and development levy is devolved and details of expenditure at project level are not collected routinely by the Department. Total investment in this area will therefore be greater than that listed above.
Projects funded by Department include:
Older people with dementia and their carers: professional intervention in primary care.A longitudinal study of carer burden and comprehensive costs in dementia.Husbands and wives who care for elderly people with dementia and functional psychiatric disorder.Re-Analysis of Dementia Data Sets.Development of Screening Tests for Dementia and Depression in Ethnic Elders.AD2000—A study which aims to assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of Donepezel and Aspirin in Alzheimer's DiseaseProject details of work directly funded by the Department or supported through the NHS research and development levy can be found on the National Research Register (NRR), copies of which are available in the Library and most medical libraries on CD Rom, and on the internet: http://www.doh.gov.uk/nrr.htm. The NRR also contains many details of projects/trials funded by the MRC and other funders.
The NHS Health Technology Assessment programme is considering research looking at "new drugs for dementia". Full proposals will be considered at a specially convened meeting in June.