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NHS Highland supports Alzheimer’s disease research in Cardiff





Joanna Hepburn.
Joanna Hepburn.

NHS Highland is to participate in a Medical Research Council (MRC) study on Alzheimer’s Disease run by a team from Cardiff University School of Medicine.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, usually affecting people over the age of 70.

However, approximately four per cent of people with Alzheimer’s are affected in their 40s, 50s or 60s in something called Young Onset Alzheimer’s Disease (YOAD).

To research YOAD, Highland volunteers diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and who experienced symptoms before the age of 70 are being invited to take part in the study.

It is hoped by identifying genes associated with YOAD, the Cardiff group led by Professor Julie Williams will learn more about why people develop the disease before the age of 70. The hope is that this will translate into new treatments and better methods of diagnosis in the future.

Clinical research nurse Joanna Hepburn, who is based at the Centre for Health Science in Inverness, said: “Very little is known about the cause of Alzheimer's disease. However it is thought to be explained by a combination of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors.

“Genes act like instructions for processes in our bodies. Differences in these instructions are what make us unique. By comparing the subtle differences in the genes of groups of people with and without Alzheimer’s dsease, we discover clues about the processes in our bodies which may cause the condition.”

Helping with the research is completely confidential.

Ms Hepburn added: “Findings could give scientists new areas to research, which could lead to new ways to treat and delay Alzheimer’s disease.”


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