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The Alzheimer's Research Trust is to receive £500,000 from Discworld author Terry Pratchett, which will be used to fund future research projects. Terry himself was diagnosed with a rare form of Early Onset Alzheimer's in late 2007 and wishes to raise awareness of the disease and the charity, which has a much lower profile than high end charities such as cancer research, despite affecting a similar number of people.
Concerning Alzheimer's awareness Terry said: "I intend to scream and harangue while there is time." And acknowledging his own conditions he also said: "I am, along with many others, scrabbling to stay ahead long enough to be there when the Cure comes along. Say it will be soon - there's nearly as many of us as there are cancer sufferers, and it looks as if the number of people with dementia will double within a generation. In most cases, alongside the sufferer you will find a spouse suffering as much. It is a shock to find out that funding for Alzheimer's research is just 3% of that to find cancer cures."
The Chief Executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, Rebecca Wood, said:
"Whilst we were deeply saddened to learn of Mr Pratchett's diagnosis, we are delighted that he has chosen to speak out about his experiences with Alzheimer's disease, to raise awareness about its impact and the desperate need for more research.
"Research is the only way to beat this disease and help people like Terry - to prevent them losing their thinking skills and keep them doing the things they love. Terry's generous donation will fund promising UK research which hopes to find ways to slow down or halt the disease. The reality is that we are scraping for every penny and have to turn down two out of every three research projects."
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