Anthony Albanese has spoken publicly about the death of one of his closest friends, who had been living with dementia.
In an interview with ABC Breakfast presenter Emma Rebellato, the Prime Minister paid tribute to his longtime friend Chris Raper, who died at the age of 79.
‘I lost a good friend of mine who passed away on Monday,’ Albanese said.
‘Chris Raper, who was a union official in the Miscellaneous Workers Union and a dear friend. He was severely affected, as so many Australians are, by dementia.’
Raper was a prominent figure in the Labor movement, serving as state secretary of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers’ Union before taking on senior positions in the governments of former NSW premiers Bob Carr and Morris Iemma.
Albanese’s comments came as Health Minister Mark Butler prepared to open the Asia Pacific Centre for Excellence on Alzheimer’s Disease in Sydney’s east on Thursday. Researchers at the centre hope a potentially groundbreaking blood test could reshape the way Alzheimer’s disease is detected and diagnosed.
Underscoring the significance of the new research facility, the Prime Minister said progress in early detection could make a profound difference for patients and families affected by dementia.
‘This could be a massive breakthrough, essentially a blood test for early detection,’ Albanese said.
Anthony Albanese (pictured) revealed that his friend Chris Raper had died on Monday
Raper was a Labor heavyweight, serving as state secretary of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers’ Union before going on to hold senior roles in the governments of former NSW premiers Bob Carr and Morris Iemma
‘This is a tragedy that can hit so many families, and this breakthrough today is really important and provides hope at a time where I think the world needs more hope and less fear as we go forward.’
The new blood tests allows doctors to detect the disease’s key markers decades before symptoms appear.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration-approved test will undergo further clinical trials at the new dementia centre.
The test works by detecting the two proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid and tau, which begin to accumulate in the brain decades before a person develops symptoms.
Until now, Alzheimer’s has typically been diagnosed using either a lumbar puncture or an expensive brain scan that is not widely available.
For people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, the simple, non-invasive blood test could provide an opportunity to plan for the future and, if they choose, begin preventative therapies.
‘Earlier is definitely better for people who have symptoms,’ Associate Professor Emma Devenney, a NeuRA neurologist said.
‘It’s really important for people to plan while they still can, to give them time to do the things that they want to do.’
If all goes well, the test will be available through specialist referral across Australia by the end of the year before eventually becoming accessible through Medicare.
While a major development, it would initially only be available to those already showing symptoms, said Prof Devenney, who will oversee the centre.
This is because while the test can detect the precursors to Alzheimer’s, it cannot yet give a time frame as to when, or even necessarily if, the disease will appear.
“It doesn’t tell you that you have the disease; it tells you that you have the changes in your brain – the abnormal proteins – that are associated with the disease,” Prof Devenney said.
A person who gets tested at the age of 60 and is positive, for example, may not experience symptoms until decades later, if at all.
Ultimately, Prof Devenney and her colleagues are hopeful with further developments the test will be able to give physicians more certainty as to when symptoms will begin to appear.
