Alzheimer’s research in £600k boost

Charity backs studies on dementia causes

DEMENTIA researchers in Scotland will benefit from a £600,000 boost supporting three pioneering studies into Alzheimer’s disease.

Dementia affects about 70,000 people in Scotland and the funding from charity Alzheimer’s Research UK will help scientists to understand the causes of the condition and find ways to treat it.

In the largest of the projects being funded, Professor Bettina Platt at the University of Aberdeen will study diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. She said: “We know diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s and last year my team discovered that the reverse may also be true – that the production of the hallmark Alzheimer’s protein, amyloid, may trigger diabetes.”

She hopes the research will reveal important clues about the development of Alzheimer’s and could provide new treatment options.

A team led by Dr Riccardo Marioni at the University of Edinburgh will probe links between genes and lifestyle factors such as education, with the aim of creating tools to predict whether someone is at risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

And Dr Shuzo Sakata at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow is exploring whether activating certain brain regions can reduce the build-up of amyloid protein, a key factor in Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr Carol Routledge, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Dementia is one of our greatest medical challenges.

“Pioneering projects such as these offer real hope in the fight against dementia.”