Source:REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
[Saba Sports News] Ten years ago, Sir Jackie Stewart, a legend in Formula 1 racing, saw his wife Helen Stewart diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. To help his wife combat the disease, Sir Jackie Stewart founded the charity “Race Against Dementia.” Recently, he announced a funding commitment of £4.2 million to six research teams across the country and the Rosetrees Trust UK charity, hoping to assist the UK’s top researchers in finding treatments for dementia. The three-time Formula 1 world champion stated that he has personally experienced the devastating impact dementia has on families; his 83-year-old wife suffers from short-term memory loss, which has a “terrible” effect on the family. It is reported that over 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia, with nearly 10 million new cases each year. Dementia affects memory, thinking, and behavior and includes classifications such as Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, and Lewy body dementia—one of the diseases humanity has yet to conquer.