Channel 5 looks into dementia

Dementia is the UK’s fastest growing health condition…

Research has shown we are more scared of a diagnosis of dementia than we are of cancer. In a Channel 5 programme to air next week, NHS GP Dr Claire Taylor meets patients living with dementia and scientists and experts working in the field.

Dr. Taylor puts herself through innovative tests in order to find out how you can spot the earliest signs. She learns about different types of dementia, as well as investigating cutting edge treatments, asking what you can do to prevent diseases that cause dementia from developing.

Dr Claire visits 87-year-old ballroom dancer Kenneth, who has the most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease. Kenneth first noticed his memory lapses over three years ago, but only sought diagnosis almost a year later. She also meets Marie, who mistook her early signs of dementia for something else.

At the Dementia Research Centre in London, Claire goes through an innovative hearing test. Struggling to follow a conversation with lots of background noise – known as the cocktail party effect – can be an early indicator of the disease that causes Alzheimer’s. After 20 nerve-wracking minutes of testing, Dr Claire is relieved to see that her results are in the top range.

Famous names who have lived or are living with Dementia include L:R Alistar Stewart of GB News, GMTV personality Fiona Phillips, EastEnders’ Barbara Windsor, Coronation Street’s Julie Goodyear, Crossroads’ Jane Rossington and Brookside actor Bryan Murray

Changes to all the senses are common in dementia. In order to understand more, Dr Claire boards the Dementia Bus, an experience designed to mimic the sensory changes of dementia. Marie’s husband Neil joins her, and both find it impactful and emotional.

Travelling to Scotland, Claire meets cutting edge researchers and discovers that lifestyle can affect our brain health far more than previously thought, learning about the 12 key factors which scientists believe make the most difference. Dr Claire also meets ex-footballer, Julie Stewart, whose father Jim has Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a form of dementia linked to contact sports and repeated blows to the head.

Looking to the future, Dr Claire discusses the latest developments in dementia treatments and meets scientists developing a brand-new treatment using targeted electrical currents in the parts of the brain used for memory. Kenneth is taking part in the trial.

Will You Get Dementia? Channel 5, Thursday at 7 pm