Dementia has been characterised as a ticking bomb, the 21st century epidemic, impacting on individuals, their families and society and costing the global economy £350 billion. The UK PM Challenge on Dementia 2020 aims to accelerate progress towards a disease modifying therapy, and a dementia cure by 2025. Nonetheless people living with dementia are currently offered management to improve symptoms and their lives, but there are no disease modifying treatments or cures for the different dementias.

In this interactive Mental Health Question Time, a family carer, a voluntary sector leader, a journal editor, health economist and doctors of different backgrounds will give their perspectives on whether scarce resources for research should focus exclusively on finding cures.