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Alzheimer's and Other Dementias

What is dementia?

Dementia is the group of symptoms that occurs in people whose brains are affected by conditions such as stroke or Alzheimer’s disease. It includes memory loss, mood changes and communication problems. Around 55 per cent of people with dementia have Alzheimer’s disease. But other types, including vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies, are also common. Dementia usually affects older people but young people can also be affected; in the UK 750,000 people have some form of dementia and around 18,000 of these are under the age of 65.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgements, communicate and carry out daily activities. In more severe cases it can also bring about changes in their personality and behaviour, such as anxiety, suspiciousness or agitation, delusions and hallucinations.

Vascular dementia is caused by a disruption in the oxygen supply to the brain, for example, during a stroke. This can cause brain cells to die. Dementia with Lewy bodies, the second most frequent cause of degenerative dementia in elderly people, is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with abnormal protein deposits (Lewy bodies) that form in brain cells, preventing them from functioning normally.

A snapshot of MRC research into dementia

The MRC currently funds a number of studies into the causes of dementia and how to prevent and treat it. These include studying drug treatment for managing Alzheimer’s symptoms, supporting tissue banks around the country that hold brain tissue for researchers to work with and research into ‘biomarkers’ that might improve diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Other teams are investigating new ways to diagnose and measure how far dementia has progressed and studying genes that may increase people’s risk. For instance:

  • Professor Robert Howard at the King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry is studying the effects of two drugs – donepezil and risperidone in lessening agitation in 950 patients with Alzheimer’s disease at eight centres across the country.
  • At the University College London Institute of Neurology, Dr Nick Fox is using MRI scanners to track brain tissue loss in patients with dementia, and how this differs between patients with different types of dementia.
  • Dr Stuart Pickering-Brown at the University of Manchester is investigating the genes involved in frontotemporal dementia – the second most common cause of dementia in people aged under 65. Almost half of cases of FTD occur in people with a family history of the disease.
  • Also at the University of Manchester, Professor Matthew Lambon-Ralph is investigating the breakdown of ‘semantic memory’ in people with dementia, which is central to everyday activities such as reading, speaking and using objects.
  • The MRC is providing funding for brain tissue banks in London, Newcastle and Edinburgh. At the latter, Professor Jeanne Bell and colleagues collect and maintain tissue samples from HIV-infected patients who have undergone various types and levels of treatment, for the study of HIV-associated dementia.
  • Currently led by Professor John Bond in Newcastle, the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study is a long-term multi-centre study of ageing, with a special focus on cognitive and physical decline in later years.

Useful Links

Alzheimer’s Society  UK research charity for people with dementia, their family and carers. The website provides information about dementia, dementia research and news and campaigns.

Alzheimer Scotland  Scottish dementia charity. It provide information and support and campaigns actively to help people with dementia and their families and carers.

Alzheimer’s Research Trust  Funds world-class research aimed at finding ways to cure, prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Its website provides details of research and grants, as well as information for demetia patients and their carers.

Alzheimer’s Disease International  Umbrella organisation of Alzheimer's disease associations around the world. Its website provides links to these as well as information for patients and carers and about Alzheimer's research.

BMJ Best Treatments: dementia  Provides information about which treatments really work and which don't work, based on the best and most up-to-date medical research.