Some £375 million is to be invested in research into neurodegenerative diseases, the British government has announced.
The money is to be spent over five years and will include research on diseases such as Pick’s Disease, Fronto-temporal dementia, wernicke-korsakoff, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, Lewy Body dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment.
It will include £50 million for motor neurone disease research and include an establishment of a new specialist research unit at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
Most of the funding has not been allocated and the government has invited researchers to apply for grants using UK Research and Innovation and the NIHR.
Health secretary Sajid Javid said: “Neurodegenerative conditions like MND can have a devastating impact on people’s lives and I’m committed to ensuring the government does everything we can to fight these diseases and support those affected.
“We’ve already invested millions in understanding and treating MND and our new funding commitment will back more research into this and other neurodegenerative diseases.
“We will continue to harness this expertise and innovation to support pioneering projects to find better treatments for those living with motor neurone disease, like the excellent work under way at NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre where scientists are trialling new drugs to treat the condition.”
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