Ethics of dementia research The Universal Declaration on the
Human Genome and Human Rights (UNESCO, 1997) is of relevance to
research, treatment or diagnosis affecting an individual’s
genome and covers areas such as human dignity, the rights of
people concerned and the way that such treatment, diagnosis or
research is carried. In the general preamble to the Declaration
it is stated: “Recognizing that research on the human genome and
the resulting applications open up vast prospects for progress
in improvising the health of individuals and of humankind as a
whole, but emphasizing that such research should fully respect
human dignity, freedom and human rights, as well as the
prohibition of all forms of discrimination based on genetic
characteristics.” Two types of genetic characteristics might be
identified in the course of research, namely genetic mutations
and a person’s genetic susceptibility. In an extremely limited
number of families, Alzheimer’s disease is a dominant genetic
disorder. It is transmissible