Researchers working with mice have found that long-term exposure to radiation can have an effect on specific molecular processes in the brain. The study – a collaboration between researchers in Germany, Denmark, Japan and Italy– suggests that some of these changes might be similar to those that take place in the brain in diseases like Alzheimer’s.
A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge has studied data from healthy human brain tissue, revealing a signature of proteins in specific areas of the brain that could dictate vulnerability to damage in Alzheimer’s. The findings help to explain the characteristic spread of damage across the brain that is observed in the disease and the findings could help to inform future drug discovery efforts. The results are published on 10 August in the journal Science Advances.
Dementia researchers at the University of Exeter have been awarded £91,500 to purchase a new high-powered laser to create a state-of-the-art microscope, transforming their ability to image the brain in minute detail.
Researchers in Aberdeen have highlighted a possible new link between Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes according to a new study published today in the journal Diabetologia.
Today saw an important event in the evolution of the Alzheimer’s Research UK Drug Discovery Alliance with a London reception to mark the launch of the UCL Drug Discovery Institute. Part of a network of three Institutes, the UCL Drug Discovery Institute will work with its counterparts at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge to support the translation of cutting-edge academic science towards new treatments for dementia. The event, hosted by UCL and Alzheimer’s Research UK, saw several speakers take to the stage to discuss current efforts in dementia research at the university and reflect on the importance of the charity’s investment.
US researchers have used a genetic technique in mice to reveal that early memory problems in Alzheimer’s are likely to be caused by difficulties retrieving memories, rather than laying down new ones. The research highlights particular cells in the brain that could be responsible for retrieving memories, which could be targeted by future treatments against the disease. The findings are published on 16 March in the journal Nature.
Alzheimer’s Research UK has appointed three Chief Scientific Officers to drive its £30million Drug Discovery Alliance. The Alliance, which unites three Drug Discovery Institutes at the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and University College London, is a unique drug discovery venture in dementia research.
Cambridge dementia scientists are set to benefit from nearly three quarters of a million pounds of new funding from Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity.
Researchers in the US have revealed a mechanism by which traumatic brain injury in mice could damage nerve cells and lead to neurodegeneration.
Funding worth nearly half a million pounds will unite academics at the University of Southampton with drug discovery experts at the medical research charity MRC Technology, to target the immune system in the hunt for new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.