Researchers at Duke University in the US have completed a mouse study which suggests that the amino acid arginine could be involved in the body’s response to Alzheimer’s disease. The study is published on 14 April in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Leading charity, UK government and pharmaceutical companies join forces to invest in pioneering research

Together, leading funders of research in the US, Canada and the UK are advancing a global funding initiative aimed at better understanding the similarities and differences between progressive brain-deteriorating diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, with an expanded partnership and increased funding.

The Prime Minster, David Cameron, announced today (21 Feb) a strategy to help combat dementia over the next five years, with measures to boost research, improve care and increase public awareness of dementia. Alzheimer’s Research UK is delighted to have launched a number of key strategic initiatives that will have a significant impact on the search for a treatment.

Alzheimer’s Research UK, the world’s largest dedicated dementia research charity, has announced a £30m Drug Discovery Alliance, launching three flagship Drug Discovery Institutes at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and UCL (University College London). The Drug Discovery Institutes will see 90 new research scientists employed in state-of-the-art facilities to fast-track the development of new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Three leading research funders from the UK and North America have joined forces to launch a new global initiative called MEND, or MEchanisms of cellular death in NeuroDegeneration, with a fund of $1.25m USD (£820,000/$1.56m CDN) for targeted research into brain diseases that cause dementia, such as Alzheimer’s.

Researchers at the University of Leicester have identified a molecular mechanism that helps protect an animal’s brain cells against a fall in core body temperature during hibernation. The same protein also appears to protect against neurodegeneration in mice.

Over £8m of funding for projects to improve the early detection and diagnosis of dementia has been announced by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

A team of researchers, based in the United Sates, in collaboration with colleagues in South Korea and Germany, have developed a new approach for studying Alzheimer’s disease in the lab.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has today announced an ambition to create an International Dementia Research Institute that would bring together experts to tackle the condition.