Jack Maddox and James Reeves were required to produce a video about a subject of their choice and saw an opportunity to help explain dementia and the need for research to other young people.
They received support from BRACE itself, of course, but also from Bristol University scientists Dr Pat Kehoe and Dr Andrea Tales and SW Dementia Brain Bank Manager, Laura Palmer.
The final video has been put on YouTube and it can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0EoYJ3cQUw. It is being released now to mark the beginning of National Dementia Awareness Week, which starts this Sunday, July 4.
Jack Maddox said, “We hadn’t much knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease beforehand but after talking to BRACE we found out what a devastating disease Alzheimer’s is and how vital it is to stop it for future generations. We felt it was important to let younger people know this so there would be a new generation of funding for Alzheimer’s research that can put an end to Alzheimer’s disease destroying lives and communities.”
BRACE Chief Executive Mark Poarch said, “It is often supposed – wrongly – that young people don’t know about dementia or are not really interested in helping to fight it. So many younger people encounter it in their lives because a grandparent or another close relative has the illness, and they are strongly motivated to help. Let us hope that, long before they enter the high risk age group themselves, the research we are doing now will have enabled us to diagnose dementia earlier and stop it in its tracks.”
Dr Patrick Kehoe, Gestetner Senior Research Fellow at the University’s Dementia Research Group, added, "It is tremendous that young people want to find out about Alzheimer’s disease and I was more than willing to help in the making of the video. The impact of the illness on family life is severe and at present there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease."