Dementia hits the headlines almost every day in the UK and it can be hard to know which stories will endure and which will be lining tomorrow’s chip-wrappers. To judge a story for its true potential, you often need to look through the headline and look in more detail at what the research involved.

While research announcements are made all the time, a large body of evidence is needed before new recommendations are put in place for people with dementia. These changes are not made overnight from the findings of a single study – it can take many years and many studies to build a strong evidence base.

Research in the laboratory studying molecules, genes and cells is vital for helping us understand the diseases that cause dementia, but successes at this stage still face a tough test ahead. While many promising early findings may not make the cut during more advanced testing, it only takes one breakthrough here to change lives in the future.

Over time, finding by finding, we are building a bigger picture of dementia and carrying this knowledge forward to help us find a cure.