An event organised by the University of Aberdeen and the Centre for Rural Health in Inverness will look at the current status of dementia research.

Dementia is of growing concern to our ageing society and already affects over 820,000 people in the UK and despite significant investments, no cure or effective treatments have yet been found.

Professor Bettina Platt from the University of Aberdeen will share the current status of dementia research which focuses on methods for earlier diagnosis as well as the identification of lifestyle and risk factors for dementia.

The event will take place at 7pm on Tuesday, July 16, at Waterstones book store in the Eastgate Centre and forms the second in the new Cafe MED Inverness series organised by the University of Aberdeen in partnership with the Centre for Rural Health in Inverness.

Professor Platt said: “Dementia places huge emotional, social and economic pressures not just on the patient but also on families and friends, and is a major healthcare burden for our society. We are still struggling to find   treatments and therapies, but better, earlier markers of dementia may help us to diagnose and treat patients earlier.

“There are also newly emerging risk factors that are related to lifestyle such as obesity and diabetes as well as vitamin deficiencies. I will be discussing some of the current research projects I am involved in with local and international partners that aim to uncover contributing factors and design better diagnostic tools.”

Future events in the series include a talk from one of the world’s leading figure in psychiatric research, Professor Christopher Gillberg from the University of Gothenburg on Autism. New digital technologies that aid rural healthcare provision will also be discussed in the programme, featuring work being carried out at the Centre for Rural Health.

Cafe MED Inverness is supported by a science engagement grant from the Scottish Government. All events are free and no booking is required. Refreshments are available in store and special promotions from Waterstones are available on the evenings. 

Full details of all events in the University’s cafe series are available at www.engagingaberdeen.co.uk and additional information on the Inverness series can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CafeMedInverness