Top Professor Matthew Kiernan’s 35-year dementia fight for mum
Leading brain researcher Professor Matthew Kiernan reveals how his mother's death from motor neurone disease sparked a lifelong mission to prevent dementia.
It was a conversation that defined my life.
In 1990, my mother told me she had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND), and the outlook was bleak to say the least. As a junior clinician studying for my PhD, I hurriedly looked through the medical textbooks to see what treatments might be available.
There was nothing. Within six months my mother had passed away, and I had decided what path my medical career would take.
Exactly 35 years since my mother’s diagnosis, and within a very different landscape for those diagnosed with dementia, I’m still driven to improve our understanding and treatment of the degenerative conditions like MND and the group of diseases which make up dementia – with Alzheimer’s being the most common.
But there is so much more that every one of us can do, which is why the Think Again campaign is one we at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) are so proud to be part of. We need, in short, to change the way we think and act about dementia – we need to talk about it, understand it and embrace the strategies we now know can slow, reduce the severity or even prevent many cases.
For too long dementia has been something we just don’t want to think about. But the truth is it’s not just an old person’s disease. It’s not untreatable. It’s not an inevitable part of ageing. But just as decades of discussion around cancer has led to changes in our lives to reduce the risks, so it’s time for dementia to move to the top of our health to-do list.
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From my side of the desk, researchers and clinicians have spent the decades since my mother died fighting to understand neurodegeneration and why cases of dementia are increasing – as well as hunting for therapies and even cures.
The good news is that there are dozens of new drugs and tests in development to combat the whole spectrum of dementia – some to try to diagnose it, some to try to slow its progression, and some to try to prevent it.
But the even better news is that researchers now know there are many ways we can reduce our own personal risk, and give ourselves the best possible chance of living longer and living well.
As always, prevention is many times better than cure.
While a small proportion of dementia cases are genetic, the work of researchers over many years – including some of my colleagues at NeuRA – has shown the degree to which our lifestyles play a part.
Last year, dealing with declining eyesight and keeping your cholesterol under a healthy level were added to 12 more factors that the evidence proves can affect our risk of dementia. Helpfully some relate to the physical upkeep of our bodies, particularly our vascular health – the stronger your heart and the better the flow of blood to your brain, the better your brain health.
Similarly, avoiding or treating diabetes and high blood pressure, giving up smoking and reducing alcohol consumption and avoiding obesity, are all things that will help your body and also help your brain.
But – and this is why we need to talk about brain health, and we need to talk about dementia – we also know that being socially isolated or depressed are risk factors for declining brain health. Keeping social networks alive, looking out for friends and working to stay connected don’t just make us feel good in the moment – they have the potential to make us stronger mentally into the future.
We also need the bravery to have conversations with each other if we have concerns about possible signs of dementia, and with our GPs. There is an online screening tool called CogDrisk developed by my colleague at NeuRA, Scientia Professor Kaarin Anstey, that gives you data to take to your GP and discuss your dementia risks and symptoms – knowing that earlier diagnosis usually equals quicker and better chances of intervention with drugs, with physical care, with all sorts of ways of giving ourselves more control over living with dementia.
Governments also need to be having conversations around how to implement the new drugs to delay the onset of dementia, a few of which are now available for particular patients. At NeuRA we’ve been trialling some of them for years, with promising results, but delivering those drugs to large numbers of patients will take investment in hospitals and workforce. We are deep in conversations with the State and Federal governments as to what that might look like and how NeuRA can help to lead that process.
At every level, we need to talk about dementia, and think about all the ways we can fight it. If you think dementia won’t affect you or is just for old people, think again. If you think there’s nothing you can do, think again.
Scientia Professor Matthew Kiernan AM is NeuRA’s CEO and a distinguished clinical academic and scientist renowned for his expertise in neurodegenerative diseases. In 2019 he received the Order of Australia for his contributions to medicine and medical education in the field of neurology, and in 2024 was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.
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Originally published as Top Professor Matthew Kiernan’s 35-year dementia fight for mum
