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Novelist leads Alzheimer's fight

Updated on 07 October 2008

By Alex Thomson

The writer Terry Pratchett, who has been diagnosed with dementia, is leading a campaign launched to tackle negative perceptions of the disease.

Campaigners say Alzheimer's is a disease like few others. It affects the behaviour not just of the sufferers but of many of those who know them.

Philip Gerrard was diagnosed with Alzheimer's almost eight years ago. He was just 58 when he found he no longer knew how to use a computer at work.

His wife says they thought his condition would be treated the same way as other illnesses, but she found there was a stigma.

Professionals tend to dismiss Alzheimer's as "old age". Friends drift away and neighbours often cross the street to avoid contact.

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