People travelling on the London Underground can picture a future free from Alzheimer’s disease as part of a bold campaign from Alzheimer’s Research UK.
A gallery of mirrors will appear at Victoria and South Kensington Underground stations from Monday 21 September until Sunday 4 October and the question for commuters is: “Could the first person cured of Alzheimer’s be standing next to you?”
Alzheimer’s Research UK’s mirror gallery, London Underground (AI generated)
Launching during World Alzheimer’s Month, the displays form part of The First One, Alzheimer’s Research UK’s biggest-ever campaign featuring BAFTA-winning actor Aimee Lou-Wood.
Sam Benham-Hermetz, Executive Director of Policy & Communications at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“Every day, thousands of people pass through Victoria and South Kensington stations, each with their own hopes, plans and futures ahead of them.
“Our campaign asks people to pause for a moment and consider a remarkable possibility: that someone alive today could be the first person cured of Alzheimer’s disease.
“The first treatments for Alzheimer’s have already arrived and a record number of dementia drugs are currently being tested in clinical trials: more than 150 across 190 trials. For the first time, a cure feels within reach, and research is the only way we’ll get there faster.
“Thanks to decades of progress, dementia research is at a turning point. That’s why Alzheimer’s Research UK has also launched a petition calling on the Government to strengthen dementia services so that the NHS is ready to provide new treatments and diagnostics when they become available to the hundreds of thousands of people who need them.”
The First One campaign is built around Alzheimer’s Research UK’s growing belief that a cure for Alzheimer’s disease is now within reach. The campaign’s optimistic tone and campaign film voiced by Aimee Lou Wood and featuring music by Grammy-winning band The Cure, has been developed alongside creative agency Beyond to reflect the exciting progress made in dementia research.
London-based Dineo Moema is in the film. Both her parents were diagnosed with dementia; her father with young-onset Alzheimer’s at 58. After his death, Dineo went through the difficult process of getting a diagnosis for her mum too.
Dineo is now a passionate Alzheimer’s Research UK supporter and is backing the campaign. She said:
“I have lived through the shock and devastation of a diagnosis for both my parents. If nothing changes 1 in every 2 people will be affected by dementia and without research, we will never end the heartbreak or find a cure.
“For the first time it feels as though dementia research is at a turning point thanks to the arrival of the very first treatments to slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease. A cure is in sight but only research will get us there faster.”
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer and, with our rapidly ageing population, the greatest health challenge of our time. Today, almost one million people are living with the condition in the UK, and that number is expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040. Two-thirds of these people are, or will be, living with Alzheimer’s disease.
If nothing changes, one in two people in the UK will be directly affected by dementia in their lifetime, either by developing the condition themselves, caring for someone with it, or experiencing both
