22 Sep 2026
World Alzheimer’s Month takes place throughout September 2026, raising awareness and challenging the stigma surrounding dementia. This year’s theme – The Earlier You Know, The More You Can Do – highlights the importance of timely and early dementia diagnosis.
Every 3 minutes, someone in the UK develops dementia. Dementia is one of the biggest health challenges we face today: around 944,000 people are currently living with dementia in the UK. This is estimated to increase to more than 1 million by 2030 and to 1.4 million by 2040.
Current Developments In Dementia Research
Research offers hope. Insightful studies are giving us new information about dementia risk and causes, how we might spot it earlier and what future treatments could look like. We need people with and without a diagnosis of dementia to take part in vital research.
Current or recent studies are exploring issues such as:
- Why women are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than men, and what menopause can tell us about dementia risk, a large UK study of nearly 125,000 women found that menopause was linked to loss of grey matter in parts of the brain involved in memory and emotion. These include areas that are also affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
- The accuracy of ‘biomarker’ finger-prick tests. Earlier this year, a groundbreaking study showed that Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers can be accurately detected using simple finger-prick blood samples that are collected at home.
- Whether reducing the build up of tau protein in the brain (one of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease), slows cognitive decline.
- Other studies might include brain scans, thinking and memory tests, medication trials, and trials involving new technologies.
Connecting Rural Communities To Research: Join Dementia Research
People living in rural communities are often under-served by research, as they can be by other societal benefits. The NIHR is striving to change this by delivering research in new spaces, working in partnership with people and organisations who can connect us to people living in rural areas, and through our digital services.
Join Dementia Research (JDR) is a service that matches people to dementia related studies. People living in rural areas can often participate from their home and are not reliant on accessing health and care services in their community in order to find out about research. People can register online, by phone, or on paper.
If you would like to explore ways to participate in research, or promote JDR across your networks and community, please get in touch with us at madeline.bell@nihr.ac.uk
A public perspective: Hemalatha Kalyanasundaram, a member of the public working with the South-East Regional Research Delivery Network:
‘Today’s research is tomorrow’s evidence. Dementia research is important not only for people living with dementia, but also for the family members and loved ones who care for them. Many studies need carers’ perspectives and experiences, which can help improve both carers’ wellbeing and the care provided to the person living with dementia. As a carer myself, I can’t put into words how much research means to me and how grateful I am for the difference it can make to families like mine.
If you care for someone with dementia, your voice and experience can make a real difference. You don’t need to have medical knowledge or research experience – curiosity, an open mind and a willingness to share your experience are often all that’s needed. You can find opportunities through Be Part of Research (BPoR) and Join Dementia Research.’
More About The NIHR Research Delivery Network
The NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care to enable the health and care system to attract, optimise and deliver research across England. The RDN consists of 12 Regional Research Delivery Networks (RRDNs) and a Coordinating Centre working together as one.
This is part of the NIHR’s overall mission to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.
If you’d like to know more about the NIHR Research Delivery Network, please take a look at the dedicated member page.
You can also join the Rural Services Network health seminar on 2nd December 2026 to learn more about Join Dementia Research and our Be Part of Research (BPoR) service. BPoR connects researchers with members of the public interested in taking part in research across a whole range of health areas.
When signing up to JDR, people will be asked ‘How did you hear about Join Dementia Research?’. Please encourage people to select the ‘Other Charity’ option. A free text box will appear underneath. In this box, put in RSN1. This enables us to measure engagement with the service via our membership to the Rural Services Network.
Please contact Maddy Bell at madeline.bell@nihr.ac.uk with questions, ideas, or for more information.
