Screening will also be introduced into the NHS health check programme for people aged 40 to 74.

Mr Lansley told the Daily Mail: When you talk to people about their concerns for the future, its evident that dementia is a bigger concern even than having cancer.

We are looking for early diagnosis where physiological signs might not be as easy to pick up.

We are increasingly able to support people with early diagnosis to sustain their memory and their overall mental agility.

Sufferers of dementia, which causes the mind to deteriorate, currently fill a quarter of all hospital beds.

Health ministers are also concerned that the 19 billion cost of treating Britains 67,000 dementia patients every year is higher than that of treating cancer, heart disease or stroke sufferers.

Alzheimer's Disease is the most common cause of dementia and the most feared complaint among people over the age of 55 in the UK, behind cancer and stroke. However, only one in four people with the illness are diagnosed.

As the NHS struggles with this cost, Mr Cameron plans to improve research on living with dementia and fund a new academic centre for scientists to investigate the causes of the condition.

He also wants to encourage people to volunteer for brain scanning to help identify the signs of early onset.

We did it with cancer in the 70s. With HIV in the 80s and 90s, he will say. We fought the stigma, stepped up to the challenge and made massive inroads into fighting these killers.

Excerpt from:
Nationwide dementia screening to tackle 'crisis' among elderly