Dementia research at UiO includes studies of molecules, sleep, lactate and lifestyle. In this article, five researchers share their work.
There are fortunately many people conducting research into various dementia diseases and we are continually learning more about the causes and progression of these diseases. Photo: Åsne Rambøl Hillestad, UiO
Approximately 100,000 people in Norway currently suffer from dementia. We know that the likelihood of developing dementia increases sharply with age, a factor which means that we have to expect more people with dementia as the elderly population increases.
There are fortunately many people conducting research into various dementia diseases and we are continually learning more about the causes and progression of these diseases. In this article, five dementia researchers with different academic starting points answer questions about their work and future developments.
Research into lifestyle choices that reduce the chance of developing dementia
"My research has two main parts," says Geir Selbæk, Professor at the Department of Geriatric Medicine.
"One area is ageing, with a particular focus on dementia, in large Norwegian population studies. In the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), we follow approximately 10,000 elderly people over four years. We study information about health and lifestyle that they have repeatedly provided, as well as biological data such as DNA and other samples. Finally, we can link the information to regional and national registries.
This enables us to investigate how a wide range of factors throughout life influence the risk of developing dementia, how dementia impacts quality of life and how we use different health services.
The other main part of my research is the diagnosis of dementia. We are on the threshold of a new era when concerning the diagnosis and treatment of dementia. The Norwegian Registry of Persons Assessed for Cognitive Symptoms (NorKog), which I lead, provides a unique opportunity to map diagnostic practice in this area. Here information is collected about persons assessed for cognitive impairment at approximately 50 outpatient clinics in the specialist health service. There are close to 25,000 people in the registry.
I hope to contribute to society enabling people to make good lifestyle choices throughout their lives in order to reduce their chances of developing dementia and that people who get dementia receive the best possible follow-up from when they are diagnosed until they require 24 hour care services.
Since there will a lot more elderly people, we will see a large increase in cases of dementia, which will more than double in the next 25 years. I hope that we manage to improve the quality of services, while at the same time increasing the number of services provided. If we don't find alternative ways of helping people with dementia, my fear is that it may become more difficult to live with the disease."
