Dementia research uncovers more clues

Experts hope the work at Leeds University could be used to help trials for treatments for the condition.

Researchers found levels of a specific enzyme are raised in the brains and blood of people with the illness, which affects more than 820,000 people in the UK.

They believe the enzyme could be linked to the build-up of tau, a hallmark toxic protein involved in the disease.

People with the condition had more enzyme in one of the first regions of the brain to be damaged by Alzheimer’s than healthy people. Further analysis showed higher levels were linked with greater loss of cognitive function.

Biochemist Prof Nigel Hooper, who led the work published today in the journal Neurodegenerative Diseases, said: “We were surprised to find that levels of this enzyme in people’s blood correlated with cognitive decline, and we think this could be significant for helping to monitor people with Alzheimer’s over a period of time.

“We hope that with more research, our results could be useful to people who are testing new drugs, giving us a better chance of finding an effective treatment to fight Alzheimer’s.

“Dementia is not a normal part of ageing, and with research it can be beaten, but we need to know much more about its causes in order to develop effective treatments.”

Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK which co-funded the study with the Health Foundation and the Medical Research Council, said: “These important findings could give researchers a vital tool to aid the development of new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease.”