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Alzheimer’s disease: where are we 100 years on?

Histopathogic image of senile plaques seen in the cerebral cortex in a patient with Alzheimer disease of presenile onset.

Histopathogic image of senile plaques seen in the cerebral cortex in a patient with Alzheimer disease of presenile onset.

Press release issued: 26 June 2007

Next week leading UK researchers will be speaking about the latest Alzheimer’s research and treatment at a free public lecture hosted by Bristol University.

Every 3.2 minutes there is a new case of dementia in England and Wales and in the Bristol region alone there are 66,000 dementia sufferers.  Next week leading UK researchers will be speaking about the latest Alzheimer’s research and treatment at a free public lecture hosted by Bristol University.

Alzheimer’s disease affects one in 50 people between the ages of 65 and 70, increasing to one in five people over 80 years.  It is not, however, an inevitable accompaniment of advancing age.

Seth Love, Professor of Neuropathology at Bristol University and Director of the South West Dementia Brain Bank will chair the 3rd Bristol Alzheimer’s Public Lecture funded by the Alzheimer’s Research Trust.  Professor Love’s talk, Alzheimer’s disease: where are we 100 years on? will review the first published description of the disease by Alois Alzheimer 100 years ago and provide an update on the Bristol and Bath Alzheimer’s Research Trust Network and its contributions to tackling this devastating illness.

Other topics being covered during the evening are: Care of patients with dementia in the general hospital, Risk factors for dementia and Therapy for the future, which will be followed by a short question and answer session.

Care of patients with dementia in the general hospital will be presented by Dr Sarah Cullum, Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer in the University’s Department of Psychiatry.  Dr Cullum will explain why it’s important to recognise dementia in patients to ensure they receive the best care and to enable them to live independently.

Yoav Ben-Shlomo, Professor in Clinical Epidemiology in the University’s Department of Social Medicine, will talk about the Risk factors for dementia.  He will outline some of the risk factors for dementia and present some new data from the Caerphilly Prospective Study (CaPS).

Therapy for the future, will be given by Dr Shelley Allen, Sigmund Gestetner Senior Research Fellow in Medicine at the University.

Her talk will cover some aspects of the drugs prescribed for Alzheimer’s disease, how they work and how this information may lead to treatments in the future.  To illustrate, she will describe one of the novel therapies currently being developed here in Bristol.

Professor Seth Love, said: “Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, with 55 per cent of dementia sufferers being affected.

“It is now clear that there is no single cause of Alzheimer’s disease but whatever causes the disease in each person, the outcome is the same – progressive decline of brain function.”

“The impact of the illness on family life is severe but at present there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. The talks will be of particular interest to local charities, carers, sufferers and their families and care workers. Everyone is welcome to attend.”

The public lecture will take place at BAWA, 589 Southmead Road, Filton, Bristol, on Monday, July 2 at 7 pm The lecture is free but space is limited, to book tel 0117 970 1212 extension 3070 or email dementia-research@bristol.ac.uk.

 

Further information

The lecture has been funded by the Alzheimer’s Research Trust who fund research and provide free information on dementia on tel 01223 843899 or visit www.alzheimers-research.org.uk

Supporting charities attending the event include: Alzheimer’s Research Trust (ART); Bristol Research into Alzheimer’s and Care of the Elderly (BRACE); The Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia Care Trust.

The Dementia Research Group is a multi-disciplinary group headed by Dr Patrick Kehoe and Professor Seth Love combining Molecular Genetic, Biochemical and Neuropathological approaches to the study of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. It is based at the John James Laboratories, at Frenchay Hospital, which is also home to the South West Dementia Brain Bank and is one of nine research groups in Bristol University’s Department of Clinical Science at North Bristol (CSNB).

The Dementia Research Group is a key member of the Bristol & Bath Alzheimer’s Research Trust (ART) Network Centre, the University of Bristol Institute of Clinical Neurosciences and the Bristol and Bath Dementia Research Network (BBDRN).

The Dementia Research Group also has very close links with the Molecular Neurobiology Unit, another founder member of the Bristol Alzheimer’s Research Trust (ART) Network. The Molecular Neurobiology Unit is based in the Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology (LINE), in the Dorothy Hodgkin Building and is part of Bristol University’s Department of Clinical Sciences at South Bristol.

Recently the breadth of dementia related research has broadened in CSNB to include a new research interest in the mechanisms of neuronal loss in neurodegenerative disease which is headed by Dr Samar Betmouni, Clinical Senior Lecturer in Neuropathology.

Please contact Joanne Fryer for further information.
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