Background
The global epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of
dementia is recognised by the World Health Organization as a public
health priority. It is estimated that 36 million people worldwide live
with dementia, with numbers affected doubling every 20 years, to
reach 115 million by 20501
. The societal cost is enormous: US$604bn
in 2010 according to Alzheimer’s Disease International estimates2
.
Current priorities to address this issue include: