'Dementia: reasons to be cheerful' Inaugural lecture by Professor Sube Banerjee

Dementia is one of the most common and serious disorders in later life with profound effects on those affected and their families. Currently, 35m people live with dementia worldwide, and this costs $600 billion per year. These numbers are set to double and the costs to triple in the next 20 years. It causes irreversible decline in global intellectual, social and physical functioning. Abnormalities in behaviour, insight and judgement are part of the disorder, as are neuropsychiatric symptoms such as psychosis, anxiety and depression.

The negative impacts of dementia on those with the disorder, in terms of deteriorating function, and on carers are profound. This is often presented in terms of crisis and catastrophe. However this is not the whole picture. There are reasons to be cheerful. In this lecture Professor Banerjee considers the positive value of the new policy priority accorded to dementia and the emerging evidence on what we can do to improve the quality of life of people with dementia and their family carers. The lecture explores what good quality care would look like and how we can make this happen.