Newsletter spring 2016

newsletter Spring 2016 www.alzheimers-brace.org

Volunteers needed Can you help BRACEfunded oral hygiene research? See page 5

“Sensational”

#UseYourHead

Feedback on our latest conference on page 14 and details of our next one on page 15

Lots of people have taken up our social media challenge. Find out how you can join in too on page 16

World class violinist backs BRACE Julia Hwang, a brilliant young violinist who has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, has become an Ambassador for BRACE.

At just 20, Julia is already a recording artist of international renown and a student at Cambridge University. She has been a friend and supporter of this charity since her days as a student at Clifton College in Bristol, during which time she took part in a concert at St George's in support of BRACE. Julia said she was delighted to be joining BRACE as an Ambassador. She said, “Dementia has affected my family and is one of the biggest health issues of our time; it’s vital that we keep the money flowing towards research. It is a great honour to have been asked to become an Ambassador for the charity and I look forward to helping them in any way I can over the coming years.”

Julia marked her new role by organising a concert at St John’s College in Cambridge in which she performed with other top musicians and raised funds for dementia research.

BRACE Chief Executive Mark Poarch said Julia would be a real asset to the charity. “To have someone of Julia’s talent and status join us as an Ambassador is fantastic. She can help us raise our profile yet further and continue our mission to fund vital research.”

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Programme of Events 2016 Please check the events page on our website for updates/changes. If you would like to help at any event, please contact us.

MAY TUE 17 BRACE Annual Golf Tournament at Henbury Golf Club, Bristol BS10 7QB. See p12 for more details.

Tue 24 Lunch at Thornbury Castle with historic tour of the building.

SAT 28 Sainsbury’s Supermarket Collection If you would like to help please contact the BRACE Charity Office on 0117 414 4831.

Sainsbury’s, Serbert Rd, Portishead, Bristol, North Somerset BS20 7GD

Learning to live well with dementia Hilary Doxford is a member of the World Dementia Council and has played a key part in our conferences in November 2014 and 2015.

The text below was originally published as a guest blog on the BRACE website last year.

“ Hello. I’m Hilary Doxford and I was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2012.”

JUNE MON 6 BRACE Annual Celebration at BAWA Club, 589 Southmead Road, Bristol. BS34 7RF. 7pm – 9pm approx. Light refreshments will be available. All welcome to come and hear about our research and fundraising. Please let the office know if you plan to attend.

SUN 26 Nailsea Charity Walks and Runs We would love to have more BRACE walkers or runners taking part in this event. Suitable for all ages and abilities with three courses – 5k, 10k or 20k. For more information, please visit www.alzheimers-brace. org/events/nailsea-charity-walks-runs

JULY SAT 23 Concert by the Choir of Good Shepherd Church of Houston, Texas. See page 8 for details.

OCTOBER SAT 01 Annual BRACE Autumn Fair at Newman Hall, Westbury-on-Trym, BS9 4DR 10am – 12.30pm SAT 15 An “Autumn Fayre and Auction” supporting BRACE from 12.30pm - 3.30pm at Shield Road Primary School, Shields Avenue, Northville, Bristol BS7 0RR. Organiser: Jeanne Clements (07866 392912) SAT 29 Linda Alvis Christmas Bazaar, 94 Worrall Road, Clifton BS8 2TU 10.30am – 2pm. BRACE stall.

NOVEMBER TUE 01 BRACE Dementia Conference at The Future Inn, Bristol BS1 3EN 10am-3pm (free but prior booking essential) Please contact the BRACE Office or visit our website for further information about any of these events.

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I have got lucky and it would appear my decline is very slow and I have been reassured to see others similar to myself who received a diagnosis over 10 years ago are still able to lead fulfilled, if challenging, lives.

I am still driving, working and on the whole able to mask the problems it causes me. I was relieved when I got the diagnosis as it explained my problems, gave me the proverbial kick up the backside and totally changed the course of my life.

That change began when I joined the Alzheimer’s Society research network which opened many other doors, in particular enabling me to make some contribution to research work into finding a cure, delaying or slowing down progression, and care for people with dementia. What I’ve seen and heard has been reassuring. Although still there under the surface, my initial fear at what lies ahead has been reduced. I truly believe great strides have been made and continue to be made in overcoming dementia and helping us live as well as possible with it. BRACE impressed me from the start and I am pleased to be able to do what I can to support a local charity who show just how much can be

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done with limited resources.

I applaud Mark and his team, and I am pleased to be taking part in a clinical trial at the University of Bristol.

My life with Alzheimer’s is harder than it used to be, but still very manageable and enjoyable. It is true, you can live well with dementia and for a lot longer than we are sometimes given credit for.

We just need to be given the time to garner our thoughts and the tools to help our brain do its job.

I am often asked what symptoms I experience, I have a list of over 50 which for now are nuisances and irritations. However, I never knew that just thinking could be such hard and tiring work. My short term memory is my greatest difficulty.

I do find complex multi-faceted problems or even long sentences difficult until I break them down into bite-sized chunks. My brain won’t hold the bits of information I need in its short-term memory so I write a lot down; for example I can no longer even multiply a two digit by one digit number, because I need to retain a single carry forward number for a few seconds to complete the maths and my memory won’t do it - frustrating.

In my various voluntary roles I have areas where I push for change, my top five are: To avoid replication and duplication of research work nationally and internationally: resources and expertise are limited, we must ensure we get the best value from them and not re-invent wheels.

Anecdotal evidence: academics and researchers are too quick to dismiss patient feedback on what works for them. I accept you need evidence before a treatment can be sanctioned but researchers should be listening and investigating, particularly interventions that nature already provides. I (and many others) take high doses of vitamin B and I am convinced I would not be working today if I didn’t take these (but check with your GP first).

To understand, share and learn more from the failed trials: there is increasing evidence that the 130+ types of known dementias is an underestimation and that for example Alzheimer’s can be sub-divided into different types.

It concerns me that clinical trials are unable to target the right subgroups and that so-called failed

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trials could work for some people.

This was recently evidenced by Eli Lilly and their review of a ‘failed’ trial that actually showed promise for those in the early stages of the disease.

To take a common sense approach to research with respect to bureaucracy and red tape. So much time is lost in gaining ethics approval, and hoops have to be jumped through to obtain relevant data. Yes we need checks and balances, but they need to be sensible and proportional to the risk. We can never eliminate all risk, if we did we would get nowhere but the current risk-benefit ratio in my view is weighted in the wrong direction.

To increase awareness of the problems of those with dementia and their carers, the enormity of their problems, their bravery and strength each day. I want everyone who is not part of the dementia community to know who the real heroes are; it is those at grass roots level who toil away day in and day out without the recognition so deserved. I may not be able to say thank you to your face, but believe me, every day I think of you and thank you.

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News in brief...

Pupils at Trinity School, Croydon, raised funds by racing to eat marshmallows!

BRACE and the University of Bristol got together in December to celebrate the contribution of the John James Bristol Foundation to the labs that originally housed the SW Dementia Brain Bank.

Following the move to Southmead Hospital, we did not want this critically important funding to be forgotten. The Foundation’s Chairman Joan Johnson, seen here with Professor Seth Love, was invited to unveil a plaque in the new laboratories.

Oral hygiene research needs volunteers

Clifton artist Linda Alvis again supported BRACE through her annual Christmas bazaar, which was opened by BBC Bristol presenter Alex Lovell.

Members of Bradley Stoke Bowls Club clearly had a great time raising funds for us last year.

The BRACE autumn fair was a great success. It was again sponsored by CJ Hole of Henleaze and given great support by the Red Maids Junior School girls, QS Burroughs Day and a small army of enthusiastic volunteers. Actor John Telfer (The Archers, Bergerac) opened the event.

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BRACE is funding research into possible links between oral hygiene and the progression of dementia at the University of Bristol, and we are helping Principal Investigator Shelley Allen recruit volunteers.

Our thanks to Dennis Street, his daughters and the rest of the Young at Heart Club for raising £2,200 as part of their charity of the year support of BRACE. Our president, Susan Marshfield, visited them to receive the cheque and tell them about the latest research.

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Dr Allen said “The Oral Health Study is a clinical research study which is a collaboration between the Southmead Neurobiology Group, the Bristol Dental Hospital and the ReMemBr group to investigate whether improving oral hygiene (how well we clean our teeth and gums) slows the progress of disease in people living with mild dementia.

Recent research suggests that low level chronic infections, such as periodontitis, may be a risk factor for dementia.

“In this first pilot study, up to 20 people with mild Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia and gum disease will be treated at the Bristol Dental Hospital over a period of two years to improve the health of their gums, and we will determine how easy it is for participants to achieve and maintain good oral hygiene. The participants will need to be accompanied by a project partner (for instance a friend or adult relation).”

Those interested should ring the Dental Hospital on 0117 342 4314 or email dental-clinical-trials@bristol.ac.uk and a member of the study team will provide more information and answer any questions.

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Novel plasma biomarkers increased in Alzheimer’s disease Researchers from the Centre for Research in Biosciences at the University of the West of England are working on a project that may lead to early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Differential diagnosis of people presenting with mildcognitive impairment (MCI) that will progress to severe AD is challenging. Robust diagnostics that can indicate preclinical AD and monitor the effectiveness of potential treatments are vitally important.

A Will To Change Lives Most of us write a will to ensure that our families and loved ones are cared for after we’ve gone. But some people also decide to use their will to help others - future generations, people that they’ve never even met.

Charitable legacies are the bedrock and foundation for many good causes in the UK and they are absolutely vital to BRACE to enable us to continue our world class research. Many of us will be touched at some point in our lives by the remarkable work that charities do, but without gifts left in wills, a lot of this simply would not happen.

A generous donation made to BRACE from the estate of a late supporter was used to fund the research of a chemistry PhD student within the laboratory of Dr Shelley Allen and the late Dr David Dawbarn at the University of Bristol.

This project focused on designing a drug to activate receptors in the brain which are known to promote the growth and the survival of specific brain cells – to become a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.

In addition to enabling this research, which has resulted in the initial development of a promising new drug, this legacy supported the early career of a highly talented young scientist. It provided her with the resources necessary to develop the skills and knowledge for a successful future in dementia research. She went on to obtain a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship.

There are a few different types of legacy gifts that you can make when leaving money to charity in your will. A pecuniary gift allows you to leave a specific amount of money to BRACE. A residuary gift allows you to leave a share of your estate once family and friends have been taken care of. Most of our legacy income comes from residuary gifts. A reversionary gift allows you to leave your estate to your dependants while they are living, but after they pass away it will revert to BRACE. BRACE receives no government funding. We rely entirely on voluntary donations like legacies to continue our ground breaking research to find the causes of dementia, achieve earlier diagnosis, find better treatments and one day a cure.

All gifts in wills, no matter the size, contribute to our scientific laboratory and clinical research helping us achieve our vision of a future without dementia.

If you would like to know more, please contact the BRACE Charity Office.

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Prof Myra Conway is working with UWE researcher Dr Anna Shiel, in collaboration with Dr Elizabeth Coulthard and Prof Risto Kaupinnen from the University of Bristol on a pilot project that aims to identify how proteins can act as indicators of AD pathology.

Myra explained, “Previous work by our group has demonstrated that there is an increase in the level of a protein called the branched chain aminotransferase protein in brains affected by AD, which correlates with AD pathology. In healthy individuals, this protein plays a role in regulating a chemical called glutamate, important for memory and learning. However, if glutamate levels become too high, it becomes toxic to brain cells, which has been shown to contribute to the progression of the disease. Not only are our group making inroads into understanding how the increase in this protein is linked to AD pathology, we now have evidence to show that this increase is also mirrored in plasma.

“Our pilot studies show that levels of these proteins are significantly increased in plasma from AD relative to controls. We have also found that this measurement correlates with the ApoE4 genotype, a gene which has previously been shown to be associated with increased risk.

Photo: Dr Anna Shiel in the laboratory

Moreover, these biochemical and genetic markers show a significant correlation with cognitive assessment and MRI imaging (in collaboration with Dr Coulthard and Prof Risto Kaupinnen). Results from this study will be used to establish a larger cross-sectional study to confirm the clinical utility of this protein as a plasma biomarker and explore its role to detect AD at the pre-clinical stage.”

Speaking about the importance of the research, Myra said, “This study provides an opportunity to improve the diagnostic power of existing tools such as cognitive assessment and MRI imaging. Without a diagnosis people that experience memory loss feel worried, frustrated and anxious.

An early diagnosis can offer reasons to explain these changes and also help you gain access to support for you and your family as well as the appropriate care and treatment.

In the future, these advances in diagnostics will play an even wider role with respect to monitoring of treatments, clinical research and drug discovery.”

This research was funded by BRACE with support from the Masonic Samaritan Fund.

For further information contact Prof Myra Conway: myra.conway@uwe.ac.uk

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A

B

ApoE genotyping: ApoE ε4 is called a risk-factor gene because it increases a person’s risk of developing AD; however, inheriting an ApoE ε4 allele does not mean that a person will definitely develop AD. Panel A: Examples of banding patterns for the Apo ε4 and Apo ε3 allele.

Panel B: The ApoE genotype distribution of study cohort.

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A step closer to slowing Alzheimer’s disease?

Saturday 23rd July | 7.30pm FRENCHAY PARISH CHURCH, FRENCHAY COMMON BS16 1LJ

Concert by the Chancel Choir of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, Houston, Texas We are delighted to welcome this 24 year old choir from the USA on its tour of England. A wide ranging musical programme is planned under the direction of Dr Sterling M. Allen and accompanied by Dr Rachel Chao.

Tickets £10 – online booking through the BRACE website If you are unable to book online, please ring the BRACE office for advice 0117 414 4831

And the winners are...

The winner of the Christmas competition prize of a £30 gift voucher and a 2016 BRACE Calendar was John Griffin from Bristol. The winner of the recent Herbs and Spices competition was Mrs A Harvey also from Bristol and received a £30 gift voucher.

Our latest competition is Composers and is enclosed with your newsletter. The winner will receive a £30 gift voucher.

Thank you to everyone who enters our competitions. If you haven’t done it before why not have a go?

It’s only £2 and all the money goes to support vital dementia research.

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A long time BRACE supporter took to his wheels in September to help the charity in a novel way.

Roy the rover

By Dr Liz Coulthard In 2015, there were much publicised preliminary positive results from two new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Monoclonal antibodies Solanezumab (Lilly) and Aducanumab (Biogen) both target amyloid, one of the critical proteins that forms plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, contributing to progressive brain damage.

Solanezumab binds to soluble amyloid and is thought to prevent formation of clumps of abnormal protein, whereas Aducanumab binds to clumps of amyloid protein and is thought to encourage removal by the brain’s defences.

Interim data for Aducanumab suggested that at higher doses it might prevent some decline in memory and day-to-day abilities (albeit with some associated toxicity). Biogen have now accelerated the start of a world-wide phase 3 trial of aducanumab with UK sites opening in 2016.

Solanezumab had previously failed in two phase 3 trials (EXPEDITION 1 and 2) and such failure normally signals the end for a drug. However Lilly noticed overall that people earlier in the course of the disease did improve somewhat. Such reanalysis of data where a drug has failed to meet the primary endpoint is never enough to justify clinical

use of a medicine. However, at week 80 the company went on to give active solanezumab to people with mild disease at the start who had initially been given placebo. Delayed start comparison of those who had solanezumab from the beginning compared with those who started solanezumab after 80 weeks showed that the benefit of having the drug early persisted.

Roy Adair, from Westbury on Trym, covered an impressive 2,500 miles in 11 days, spending about 70 hours in the saddle as he visited some of the continent’s leading research centres. The trip was planned to raise both funds and awareness.

The ‘Meeting of Minds’ Charity Motorcycle Tour began at Southmead Hospital where Roy interviewed BRACE-supported research scientist Professor Pat Kehoe.

Roy explained the motivation behind the tour. “My own family has been affected by dementia and I wanted to do something that would raise the profile of the illness and show people that supporting research is so important," he said.

It is important to note that the effect of solanezumab even in the early stages was actually pretty small – less than 1 point better than expected on a memory test. Nevertheless, using unorthodox and pioneering methods, evidence that solanezumab slows the progression of Alzheimer’s is accumulating.

Roy, whose company Open Network Associates has chosen BRACE as its official charity, was joined by right hand man (and motorbike newcomer) Martyn Hopkins riding pillion on the adventure. The two of them visited some of the top researchers and recorded interviews about their work.

We know that several proteins are abnormal in Alzheimer’s, not just amyloid, and it remains a possibility that a combination of treatments for different targets might be cumulatively effective, but this has yet to be tried. Future research needs to establish not only which drugs might work best alone or in combination, but also how early we need to treat people. This has potential huge implications for dementia services in the UK where we do not generally diagnose dementia until after solanezumab might exert an effect and many units are not set up to give infusions.

Earlier accurate diagnosis in safe medical settings will be critical should these drugs prove effective.

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Mark Poarch, Chief Executive of BRACE, said, "It was generous and imaginative of Roy and Martyn to give their time to support BRACE in this unusual way, and they came back with some fascinating material on video."

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Dr. Mouhamed Alsaqati (right), post doctoral research associate and Ms Katie Sharp (left), professional training year student, preparing a solution in the laboratory.

They are based in the laboratories of Drs Emma Kidd and Rhian Thomas in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Cardiff University and work on a BRACE-funded project ‘The influence of altered endocytic protein expression on the predisposition to develop Alzheimer's disease’.

Amber James St Andrews undergraduate Amber James ran the Amsterdam Marathon for us, raising a whopping £1,000. Amber said, “By supporting universities and research institutes in the South West, BRACE directly contributes to increasing our understanding of the causes and possible cures for Alzheimer’s disease”.

Thank you Amber!

Figure 1.

Caveolin-2 staining in human brain samples from an AD patient (A) and a healthy control (B) demonstrating reduced levels in AD patients.

David Skidmore Thank you to the fantastic David Skidmore, who ran 7 races for BRACE, raising over £1,000 in memory of his Grandma Joan. David said, “I have had some truly remarkable experiences this year and done things I could never have imagined. I’m delighted to have been able to raise £1,000 for BRACE. Hopefully it will come in handy.”

Understanding Alzheimer's disease-related proteins

by Dr Mouhamed Alsaqati, Dr Rhian Thomas, Dr Emma Kidd (Cardiff University)

Just some of our

Charity Champions Becca Vernon Becca Vernon was also one of our star runners of 2015, taking part in the Bristol 10k, Half Marathon and the newly created Bristol–Bath Marathon.

She raised £600 in memory of her Grandad Cyril. Like David, Becca was not an experienced runner – which makes her achievement all the more impressive.

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Tony Barker Moving across the pond, Tony Barker travelled to the USA for a colossal challenge, the Ironman Lake Placid.

It entails a 2.4 mile Swim, 112 mile Bike Ride, finishing off with a 26.2 mile marathon! BRACE is particularly close to Tony, as his wife, Dr Rachel Barker, was funded by BRACE. Rachel said, “BRACE very kindly funded my PhD at Bristol 5 years ago and Alzheimer's is very close to both mine and my husbands' hearts as we've both had family members suffer from the disease.” Tony raised a healthy £800 for his sterling effort.

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is thought to be caused by the accumulation of a small protein called β-Amyloid (Aβ) in the brain. This protein is made from a larger protein, amyloid precursor protein (APP). However, APP cannot be processed to generate Aβ until it has travelled away from the edge of the cell. The process by which APP moves inside the cell is called ‘endocytosis’. Two types of endocytosis are related to AD; the first is controlled by a protein called clathrin, and the second by other proteins including the caveolins.

We are based in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Cardiff University, and have a long-standing interest in understanding the causes of AD and factors controlling the generation of Aβ. We have already reported in earlier BRACEfunded projects that reducing the levels of caveolins in cells increases the amount of Aβ in these cells without altering the levels of APP, suggesting that, at normal levels, caveolins may indirectly prevent the conversion of APP to Aβ.

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Since age is a major risk factor for AD, we are currently working on a BRACE-funded project to understand the relationship between AD, endocytosis and ageing in human brains. We have obtained very interesting data showing that the levels of a number of proteins involved in endocytosis including clathrin, dynamin-1 and AP180 are higher in brains from older men (70-80 years) compared to young (20-30) and middle-aged (40-50) men. This suggests that the process of endocytosis is increased in older subjects, which may predispose them to develop AD as endocytosis, in particular the type that relies on clathrin, is necessary for the production of Aβ from APP. Another aim of our project is to compare the level of endocytic proteins in brains from people with AD and healthy individuals. We discovered from brain sections of these people that caveolin-2 is expressed in blood vessels in the brain. We found a marked loss of caveolin-2 in the AD brains. This is possibly due to changes in the cells lining the blood vessels and may be related to the accumulation of Aβ seen in AD (Figure 1). We believe that determining which endocytosis proteins alter with ageing and during AD will help us to understand more about the causes of AD and the reason why age is a risk factor for AD.

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We have already heard this year that we have been adopted as charity of the year in 2016 by Smith & Williamson, an accountancy, investment management and tax group, and by NHS Shared Business Services, which provides back office services to the NHS. Mike Lea, Managing Partner of Smith & Williamson’s Bristol office, said, “We are delighted to announce BRACE as the main beneficiary of our fund-raising activities in 2016. Dementia touches the lives of so many people and BRACE is doing an incredible job in funding research to better understand this devastating condition. We look forward to hearing more about BRACE’s work over the coming months and doing our bit to help.”

Just the business

The business community is rallying to our support.

Another business achieving great things in fundraising is Arup’s Bristol office. The staff of the engineering firm have already raised over £11,500 and are still going. One of their regular ploys is selling ice creams, cakes and other tempting snacks to the staff “to beat the 3pm slump”. Other fundraising initiatives have included the Arup Golf Day, a Christmas Fair, “scavenger hunts” and a Clifton Suspension Bridge tour that gave participants a rare view from the top of the bridge.

Our business supporters in 2015 included Butterworth Jones, an accountancy firm with an office in Westonsuper-Mare. They organised a very successful ball in the autumn, raising funds for BRACE and another charity called Ups and Downs. We think their pictures tell the story better than our words can.

Bristol celebrity chef, Paul O’Neill, from Berwick Lodge, hosted a Christmas cookery class to celebrate Bang & Olufsen’s 50 years in business. At the gourmet bash in B&O’s Cribbs Causeway showroom, Paul demonstrated how to cook the perfect Turkey Wellington – raising £1,000 for BRACE. Thank you B&O and Chef Paul.

Words and art by Louise Gethin and Beth Hawkins

BRACE Golf Tournament

Another business that supported us in 2015 was Radius Global Growth.

They raised £2,350 for their two charities.

17th May 2016 12.30pm till late

Among Bristol’s law firms, Jordans and QS Burroughs Day continued to support us. Among other activities, Jordans held a dress down day and QS Burroughs Day again had a stall at the autumn fair.

A wonderful day that has raised a substantial amount for dementia research since 2002.

1st Tee off at 12:30pm Teams of 4 - £200 entry fee

One of the biggest donations we have ever received from a business arrived in February from MBDA. Their staff decided to make BRACE one of the beneficiaries of their annual charity dinner in London.

Representatives of MBDA came to present a giant cheque to BRACE and Dr Liz Coulthard, who leads clinical research in the Bristol Brain Centre. The £12,000 donation will enable Liz’s team to improve its cognitive testing service.

Includes a two course evening meal, bacon butty upon arrival and raffle/auction.

Please contact Henry at admin@alzheimers-brace.org or on 0117 414 4831 for more information.

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A special mention is due to a very small business. Avenue Café in Emersons Green, South Gloucestershire, is an independent café and very much part of the local community. For the second year running, BRACE was one of four charities supported by the staff, receiving a share of about £4,500 raised in total. It is a testament to what can be achieved by small businesses with determined staff We thank them all for their and supportive customers! enthusiasm and hard work.

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BRACE Annual Conference

“I thought it was brilliant and I was delighted to see it was so well attended”

Tuesday 1st November 10am to 3pm Future Inn, Bristol

“I congratulate you on a superb event as always.

It ran seamlessly and the focus of the day was very engaging for the audience”

“Like last year, every single speaker was sensational”

To be chaired by Sir Martyn Lewis CBE BRACE Ambassador All are welcome and there is no charge. Pre-booking is essential though and this can be done via the BRACE website.

BRACE donation and contact form Please find enclosed a donation of £_____________________________ to BRACE.

Together for dementia Our November conference has been running for just two years but already feels like an essential fixture.

For the second year running, former BBC and ITN news presenter Martyn Lewis joined us for the occasion and ran everything with consummate skill. His instincts as an interviewer and journalist helped draw out the real issues and best stories throughout the day. We are also grateful to our truly excellent speakers, interviewees and panellists.

Thank you for your donation. Please tick this box if you do NOT want a written acknowledgement

“Just wanted to say what a wonderful event yesterday was – truly inspiring”

Please send me the newsletter by email only Please provide your contact details below so we can thank you or in case of query. If you are eligible to add Gift Aid, please also tick the Gift Aid box.

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on pages 2 and 3 of this issue) and Norman McNamara, founder of the Purple Angel campaign.

The aim of the conference each year is to provide a forum in which people involved with dementia in different ways can meet, learn from one another and perhaps find ways of collaborating.

Since the conference Martyn Lewis has been knighted in the New Year’s Honours for services to charity and we send him warm congratulations from all at BRACE.

At this conference, we heard from scientists, clinicians, campaigners, designers and people living with dementia. In the room with them were lawyers, carers, care home managers, researchers, students and others who might not normally come into contact with such a wide range of different perspectives on dementia.

A special mention for The James Tudor Foundation, which has generously sponsored our 2014 and 2015 conferences and has kindly agreed to do so again this year.

Three short videos from the conference, consisting largely of interviews with key people, are available on the BRACE website. These include Hilary Doxford (whose article about living with dementia you can read

This year’s conference is on 1st November and details are available on page 15.

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DEFEAT DEMENTIA #UseYourHead For BRACE to achieve its vision of a world free from dementia, the charity needs to reach out across our region to highlight the work we do in a fun and engaging way in order to win widespread public and business support. An ongoing 'headband wearing' social media campaign launched last year - 'DEFEAT DEMENTIA' #UseYourHead is helping us to do this.

Professional sports teams, including Bristol City FC and Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, and a number of businesses have given their support.

Other supporters to date include actor John Challis (Only Fools and Horses), entertainer Paul Manners and model Nell McAndrew.

16 | BRACE Registered Charity 297965

Economics expert and ITV's political editor Robert Peston joined in by tweeting a headband wearing selfie to his 600k plus twitter followers.

After the tweet, Robert said, "I’m delighted to ‘Use My Head’ to support the important research funded

by BRACE. Apart from the devastating human cost, dementia is one of the biggest economic challenges we face today. The estimated cost to the UK economy is £26.3 billion per year, but just £74 million – less than 0.3% of the cost – is spent on research to defeat it.

Painstaking research is the best route to transform the outlook for those who live with and those who will live with dementia in the future. That is why I applaud the work of BRACE."

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