On December 11, London will be host to a G8 summit on dementia, reports the U.K. Department of Health.  The summit convenes world leaders with the aim of stimulating greater investment and innovation in dementia research, improving the prevention and treatment of dementia, and improving quality of life for people with dementia.  While researchers, companies, ministers, and non-profit organizations gather at the summit, people around the world can watch the summit live.

This summit has come to London because of the U.K. Department of Health’s dementia challenge.  The aim of the dementia challenge is to identify and carry out actions to drive improvements in health and care, create supportive communities for dementia patients and their loved ones, and improve dementia research.  Under Prime Minister David Cameron, the challenge was launched in March 2012 and a progress report was released in May 2013 with the aim of accomplishing program goals by 2015.

According to BBC News Health, this summit is timely because of new figures that estimate that the number of people living with dementia will rise to 135 million by 2050, which is three times the current number at 44 million.  Despite the impact of dementia, it still does not get the kind of funding that other major conditions get.  As a result, experts warn that the majority of governments are unprepared to handle the epidemic.

Currently, 38 percent of dementia cases are in the rich countries.  However, by 2050, 71 percent of the patients will be in poor countries without the resources to create support systems.  Experts describe the G8 dementia summit as a once-in-a-generation chance to conquer this condition and find meaningful action to pursue after the summit.  In order to make progress, there has to be research and scientific improvements as well as structural improvements to ensure that countries can offer necessary interventions.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million Americans are living with the disease and it is also the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.  In fact, one in three seniors dies from Alzheimer’s or another dementia.  WebMD describes dementia as a loss of mental functions to the point where it interferes with daily functioning.  In a small number of cases, dementia can be treated because the source is treatable.  Examples of these include dementia caused by substance abuse, prescription medicine combinations, and hormone imbalances.  However, the vast majority of cases are untreatable.  Also, the the World Alzheimer’s Report 2013 points out that the current cost of dementia exceeds $600 billion.