Dr Christina Toomey is investigating how problems with fats in the brain might trigger or worsen frontotemporal dementia by studying brain tissue from people with the condition.

Dr Jessica Jiang at University College London is creating a new kind of hearing test that mimics real-world sounds to better understand how people process them. Because it doesn’t rely on language, it could be more inclusive for different communities.

Dr Klaudia Kocsy at the University of Sheffield is testing whether gene therapy could help strengthen weakened blood vessels in the brain by blocking faulty collagen linked to the COL4A1 gene.

Dr Nathasia Mudiwa Muwanigwa at University College London is studying how the Alzheimer’s protein tau interacts with RNA – the molecules that help control how cells work – to find new ways to keep nerve cells healthy.

Dr Tanja Fuchsberger at the University of Cambridge is exploring how overactivity in the brain might affect the early build-up of Alzheimer’s proteins, and what processes are involved.

Dr Sam Washer at the University of Oxford is looking for genes that influence how microglia – the brain’s immune cells – move and respond in Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr Daniel Jutzi at the University of Edinburgh is investigating how changes in a protein called TAF15 may disrupt how brain cells work in FTD, and whether fixing these changes could restore their normal function.

Dr Alexander Cammack, also at University College London, is studying how fat levels change in brain cells affected by TDP-43, a protein linked to frontotemporal dementia (FTD). He’ll also look at whether dietary supplements could help protect these cells.

Dr Gabriel Aughey at University College London is exploring why some nerve cells start to behave as if they are dividing in Alzheimer’s disease, and what this might mean for how the condition develops.

Share your thoughts on the issue, and be part of the dementia research community driving progress #ForACure, at our next Research Conference!

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www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/research/for...

The debate continues, but this latest paper is an important contribution and we hope to see it add to the discussion on quality of life assessment methods, and ultimately improve access to new treatments.

Read it here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

During his talk, Prof Fox asked people to imagine the experience of living with dementia firsthand or being a carer, and the results revealed a vast gap between perception and existing assessments, which appear to underestimate its impact.