Cardiff scientists lead new fight against dementia

Dr John Gallacher from Cardiff University’s School of Medicine is to head-up the Medical Research Council’s new UK Dementias Research Platform (UKDP), a £16 million public-private partnership launched in June that will study the brain in the context of the whole body.

"We now know that neurodegeneration can be linked to changes taking place in parts of the body seemingly unrelated to the brain and many years before dementia is diagnosed,” said Dr Gallacher, also Director of UKDP. “For example, inflammation or infection in a completely different organ may be related to the development of dementia or to accelerating the onset in people with the disease. By looking at the links between development of the disease and other factors – such as diet or illness – we hope to unearth targets for new drugs or new uses for existing drugs."

The Platform will investigate the causes of dementia across a range of different neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and motor neurone disease using data from two million volunteers aged 50 and over who have taken part in existing population studies such as UK Biobank and the Million Women Study.

The project has attracted industry partners from both within the UK and abroad (Araclon, AstraZeneca-MedImmune, GSK, Ixico, Janssen Research and Development, SomaLogic). The academic partners are: Cardiff University (academic lead), University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London, Newcastle University, University of Oxford, Swansea University and University College London.

Science Minister David Willetts said: "This new £16 million UK Dementia Platform will create the world’s largest ever study group for research into dementia, ensuring that data is freely available to support the work of international scientists in this very important area.

"The collaborative approach demonstrated by the Medical Research Council and its business partners through this platform is critical in helping us to achieve our target of doubling dementia research funding and making the UK the best place in the world to do life sciences."