Groundbreaking Research Offers Hope for Dementia Cure in Our Lifetime

Neuroscientist Dr Cara Croft and her team at the Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, are working tirelessly to find effective treatments for dementia. With funding from the Alzheimer's Society, they are testing ten drugs that could potentially lead to a cure for the disease. Their groundbreaking research has already made significant headway, challenging the classical thinking on tau, a protein essential for the structural stability of nerve cells in the brain. Dr Croft believes that the next five years could lead to huge breakthroughs in their research, and she is optimistic that they can find treatments to slow, cure, or prevent dementia in our lifetimes.

Key Takeaways:

• Dr Cara Croft and her team are working on identifying new treatments for dementia, with a focus on understanding the role of tau in the disease.
• They are using brain slice cultures to study the protein tau and its effects on brain cells, and have made significant progress in challenging the classical thinking on tau.
• The team is using genetic editing to manipulate the cultures and study the effects of tau on brain cells.
• They are testing ten drugs that could potentially lead to a cure for dementia, and are optimistic that they can find treatments to slow or prevent the disease.
• Dr Croft believes that the next five years could lead to huge breakthroughs in their research, and that they can make a significant impact on improving the lives of people with dementia.
• The team includes PhD students Miranda Colman, Daniel Birtles, and Gabriela Da Cruz Meda, and research lab technicians Abhiram Chakka and Mia Bovis.
• Dr Croft's team is supported by the Alzheimer's Society and is working to understand the impact of dementia on society.
• The research is using human brain slice cultures, which are grown from human skin cells and allowed to develop in a controlled environment.
• The team is studying the effects of tau on brain cells, and exploring ways to boost the recycling of tau to prevent its sticky form from building up in the brain.
• The research has personal significance for some members of the team, including PhD student Miranda, who has experience of dementia through her own family and friends.

Statistics:

• Over 900,000 people in the UK are affected by dementia (Alzheimer's Society).
• Alzheimer's disease is the biggest cause of dementia, accounting for 60% of cases (Alzheimer's Society).
• The research is funded by the Alzheimer's Society for five years, with the aim of identifying new treatments for dementia.
• The team is testing ten drugs that could potentially lead to a cure for dementia.
• It can take 10-20 years for the clogging process to occur in the brain, by which time the recycling function may no longer work as well as it should.
• The research has already made significant progress in challenging the classical thinking on tau, and is now exploring ways to boost the recycling of tau to prevent its sticky form from building up in the brain.

Sources:

• "Fawlty Towers legend Prunella Scales, who died on Monday, was one of the nearly one million people in the UK affected by dementia" - from a quote in the article.
• Alzheimer's Society - quoted in the article, without specific reference or date.
• "The research is funded by the Alzheimer's Society for five years, with the aim of identifying new treatments for dementia" - from the article.
• "It can take 10-20 years for the clogging process to occur in the brain, by which time the recycling function may no longer work as well as it should" - from the article.
• "Alzheimer's disease is the biggest cause of dementia, accounting for 60% of cases" - from the Alzheimer's Society website (no specific date or reference).