For those who study neurodegenerative diseases, there is a feeling of optimism -and trepidation - about what the next few decades will bring. A flood of dementia cases lies in humanity's future as the global population ages. The non-profit group Alzheimer's Disease International predicts that there will be some 135 million cases worldwide by mid-century - up from 44 million cases today. And the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by 2040, as many developed countries' populations get older, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and other causes of dementia, as well as conditions that affect mainly motor, rather than cognitive, functions, such as Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), will overtake cancer to become the second leading cause of death after cardi-ovascular disease. Treatments for neurode-generative diseases already contribute US$20 billion to a market that is expected to grow. Scientists who have both basic and clinical research skills in finding biomarkers and potential therapies could help to treat the rising burden of dementia. Governments around the world are well aware of the growing numbers, and are starting to invest in research programmes to understand and combat neurodegenerative diseases -which means that new research positions will emerge across the academic, non-profit and industry sectors worldwide. Opportunities are growing in work to find biomarkers that can diagnose disease long before neurological symptoms emerge, and to identify targets for drugs that might halt or slow neuro-degeneration.
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