Support the next phase of PROTECT

I wanted to share an exciting update from the PROTECT research team, and to sincerely thank everyone who has chosen to support our campaign so far. We have been genuinely moved by your generosity and encouragement - thank you.

Last week, our latest research was published in the journal Nature Communications, and we received some media coverage from BBC Devon News.

The study explores how a simple finger-prick blood test, completed at home and returned by post, could one day help identify people at higher risk of dementia much earlier than is currently possible.

By combining at-home blood testing with online cognitive assessments, we found that proteins linked to dementia closely matched patterns seen in people’s memory and thinking tests. This is still early-stage research, but it is an important step towards a future where brain health monitoring and dementia risk assessment could become far more accessible - helping identify people who may benefit from earlier support, monitoring or intervention.

At the moment, many people experiencing the earliest signs of cognitive decline never reach specialist services, and our research aims to change that.

What makes me particularly hopeful is that this work can happen at scale, from people’s own homes. Thousands of PROTECT participants are already helping us better understand how the brain changes as we age and how dementia risk develops over time.

Research like this is only possible because of participants, researchers and supporters working together over many years. Your support is helping us continue building towards a future where dementia can be detected earlier, understood better, and ultimately prevented more effectively.

Thank you for being part of that journey.

Anne