It is being called a national crisis, a looming healthcare disaster with no cause, cure or effective treatment.

Currently, about 330,000 Australians have dementia and each week more than 1,700 people are diagnosed with the disease. But that figure is set to rise to 7,000 a week, or a total of almost 1 million by 2050.  "Dementia is the public health challenge of the 21st century," according to Alzheimer's Australia president Ita Buttrose. Leading expert Prof Henry Brodaty from the University of New South Wales says the disease is a burden on society. "The numbers are huge and it's a tragedy for their families and it's a tragedy for society," he said.