Alzheimer’s disease
Changes to how new drugs are assessed could help dementia treatments get to people sooner
Alzheimer’s Research UK says proposed changes to the way new treatments are assessed could give the dementia drugs of the future ‘a better chance of getting to the people who need them’. NICE has today (6 November) launched a public consultation that sets out the case for change to the methods it uses to develop…
Potential Alzheimer’s treatment to be reviewed ‘within a year’ for use in EU
Today (Friday 30 October 2020) the European Medicines Agency (EMA) accepted Biogen’s application to review a potential Alzheimer’s drug, aducanumab for use in the EU. The drug will need to be approved by regulators before it could be offered more widely to the general population. What is aducanumab? Aducanumab is an antibody designed to target…
Dementia leading cause of death in September
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today (23 October) revealed ‘dementia and Alzheimer’s disease’ were the leading cause of death in September. Collectively they accounted for 11.2% of all deaths in England and 11.1% of deaths in Wales. Coronary heart disease, itself a risk factor for dementia, was the second leading cause of death…
Dementia deaths in private homes soar by 79%
More people are dying at home from dementia than ever before, as new figures reveal a shocking 79% increase in deaths compared to previous years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed there were 2,095 excess deaths from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in private homes, registered between March 14 and September 11, in England.…
Air pollution particles in brains linked to Alzheimer’s
New research published in the scientific journal, Environmental Research, links air pollution to brain changes associated with diseases like Alzheimer’s. What our expert said: Dr Susan Kohlhaas, Director of Research from Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Air pollution is linked to many adverse health conditions and a growing body of evidence suggests this includes our risk…
Cardiff dementia researcher supported by Alzheimer’s Research UK
Research into a crucial protein linked to the development of Alzheimer’s has been supported by a £76,000 grant from South Wales Freemasons. The grant is funding an Alzheimer’s Research UK PhD student, Aurora Veteleanu, at the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University. Scientists know that small changes to a gene that provides the instructions…
Genetic evidence for the role of antioxidants in Alzheimer’s disease
New research published today (Wednesday 16 September) in the journal Neurology suggests genetic evidence for the role of the antioxidant, glutathione. What did the researchers investigate? The researchers looked at information collected from 486 people who are part of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) – a long-running dementia study. They looked at the genetic…
Female chromosomes may protect against Alzheimer’s
Researchers in the US have found that having a second X chromosome may increase resilience to Alzheimer’s disease. The findings are published today (Wednesday 26 August) in the journal Science and Translational Medicine. Our genes are wound up into structures called chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Twenty-two of these pairs look the same in…
‘Morning people’ linked with higher Alzheimer’s risk
Researchers in the UK have linked sleeping patterns with an increased risk of dementia in people with a higher genetic risk of the condition. The scientific journal Neurology published the findings today (Wednesday 19 August). The study was supported by the UK Dementia Research Institute, the country’s largest dementia research initiative, which is partly funded…
‘Complicated, costly and slow’ dementia trials are delaying future treatments, Alzheimer’s Research UK warns
Alzheimer’s Research UK has called on government to use the investment promised for a ‘Dementia Moonshot’ to transform the way the UK carries out clinical trials for dementia, in an effort to find life-changing treatments sooner. A new report, from the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and Gates Ventures, has found that current…
