Brain Health Supplement March 2017 - Dementia: A Global Health Crisis That Needs to Be Tackled

Sep 2, 2026

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Research-backed guidance outlines how breakthroughs in brain science can transform outcomes for stroke and dementia, emphasizing urgency, early detection, and novel prevention and treatment strategies. It highlights the time-critical nature of stroke care, the potential of research to reduce stigma, and the development of technologies and therapies targeting neurological conditions. It also frames dementia as a growing global burden and discusses directions for research, prevention, and international action.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Dementia: A Global Health Crisis That Needs to Be Tackled

Stroke urgency and patient impact

Prevention, diagnosis, and new technologies

Research directions for dementia and global action

| Photo: Yeganeh Ghasemi | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | |
Discoveries on the Path to Cures Have the Potential to Improve Lives | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Every nine minutes, a Canadian has a stroke — it is the leading cause of severe disability. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | S
trokes often permanently
alter the life of affected individuals and their families, as they can result in memory loss, paralysis, or diminished vision, among other conse- | | | | | sion of Alzheimer’s; the development of an inexpensive retina exam to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s; the implementation of a sustainable early childhood mental health intervention that engages families and communities; and the testing of a system that monitors mobility, balance, and gait to predict and prevent falls in dementia patients, which can also be used to monitor rehabilitation after a stroke. | | | | INSIGHT

Science Proves Program Helps | | | | | quences. Finding a cure for stroke would be transformative.
However, equally transformative are the improved patient outcomes being achieved through research that increas- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | es understanding of brain function and leads to advancesin prevention, diagnosis, and treatment options. Canada is a world | | | Inez Jabalpurwala
President and CEO, Brain Canada | | | Other studies are focused on developing or testing new treatments, including the study of techniques to deliver drugs across | | | Cognitive Function | | | | | leader in brain research, and our scientists the blood-brain barrier, which would dra- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | and clinicians are making contributions across the full spectrum from basic discovery through the pathway to cures. Brain Canada, with the financial support of Health Canada (through the Canada Brain Research Fund) and many partners and donors, is funding research in this space. | | reducing the impact on the affected individual’s quality of life after the stroke.
Research can reduce stigma. In the case of mental illness and addiction, improvementsin brain imaging have allowed us to see their biological basis—that these are diseases of the brain with targets to de- | | | | matically improve treatment options for many neurological conditions; the development of therapies to treat the millions of people worldwide who suffer from irreversible vision loss, caused by the loss of the neurons in the retina that sense light; and the implementation of a physical exercise | | | Dr. Frank Knoefel
Physician and Clinical
Scientist, Bruyère
Memory Program in
Ottawa and the Bruyère
Research Institute | | | | | One example is the emergency stroke velop treatmentsand, one day, cures. regimen for individuals with spinal cord in- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | drug NA-1, currently being tested in a Research leads to new technologies jury to prevent secondary complications. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | clinical trial, which has shown the potential to prevent the death of neurons when administered within three to four and half hours of the stroke.
When a person has a stroke, time is of the essence—1.9 million neurons are lost every minute. This loss means that with every half hour that passes, the likelihood of the patient making a positive recovery decreases from anywhere between 10–20 percent. While not a cure, the impact of stroke could | | that can help reduce the burden of disease. For example, it can give someone living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS – also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) a means to regain communication.
Prevention and diagnosis are also important targets; the latter because the earlier a disease is detected, the earlier treatment can begin. Projects supported by Brain Canada include a patient trial testing a combination of elec- | |

FAQs

Why is time critical for stroke treatment?

Because neurons are lost rapidly after a stroke, and the chance of positive recovery decreases as time passes.

What does the document suggest about improving outcomes through research?

It indicates research advances can improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment options while also reducing stigma and enabling better patient support.

What is the document’s stance on whether there is a cure for dementia?

It states there is currently no cure for the different diseases that cause dementia, so extensive research is needed.

Sep 2, 2026

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