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Welcome to Dementia Research UK

We are a registered charity working to improve the lives of people with dementia by funding medical research, support services, and assistive technologies throughout the UK.

As well as telling you about our objectives and what we do, we have designed this website as a signpost to the wide range of research, services and resources provided by our expert partners, to whom we give grants. You will find links in blue throughout the site which enable you to read more detailed information on our partners’ websites.

Latest news from our partners and supporters in dementia research

Communication and dementia

About dementia

Dementia is the name given to a cluster of symptoms caused by various diseases of the brain. The words “dementia” and “Alzheimer’s” are often used interchangeably, even by clinical staff and social workers, without being clear what the people using the words mean. 

In fact, the term “dementia” may be used to cover several different things. The word in some languages is feared, even more than the word “Alzheimer’s.” 

Read more here about dementia…

Dementia Research UK is a grant-making charity, raising funds for research projects across the dementia community in all regions of the UK. 

We give grants to national research bodies based at universities and hospitals, and to regional centres delivering services and support directly to those suffering with dementia. 

Read more here about who we are…

Who we fund

We recognise the need to support research which aims to alleviate and eventually eradicate dementia. We also recognise the need to fund research which seeks to find ways to improve the quality of life for people with dementia right now, through services, support groups and technology.

Our grants cover research in both areas, so we can have a positive impact on the lives of people with dementia both today and in the future.

Read more here about who we fund…

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Dementia research news

• Familial Alzheimer's disease transferred via bone marrow transplant in mice 28-03-24
• Risk factors for faster aging in the brain revealed in new study 27-03-24
• Memory self-test via smartphone can identify early signs of Alzheimer's disease 27-03-24
• New treatment target identified for Alzheimer's disease 26-03-24
• Immune cells identified as key players in brain health 21-03-24
• Keto diet prevents early memory decline in mice 20-03-24
• Rural and minority dementia patients face disparities in access to neurologists 20-03-24
• Biomarkers of the middle-aged brain predict cognitive health in old age 19-03-24
• A healthier diet is linked with a slower pace of aging, reduced dementia risk, study shows 14-03-24
• Blast-related concussions linked to higher Alzheimer's risk 14-03-24

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Government announces nearly £50m of new funding for dementia research

Published: 24 January 2024

More people with dementia across the UK will be able to take part in research into the condition and help accelerate the development of new treatments. This comes after the Government announces £49.9 million of new funding. The investment will go towards a coordinated network of dementia trials sites across the country.

Improving diagnosis and treatment for dementia and neurodegenerative conditions is a top priority for the NIHR and DHSC. The NIHR will build capacity and expertise in early phase dementia trials across the UK. The NIHR Dementia Translational Research Collaboration (TRC)  will expand. It will develop a Trials Network (D-TRC-TN).

This will offer people with dementia the opportunity to take part in early phase clinical trials. This will be irrespective of where they live. It will widen access to a larger, more diverse population. This network will work with the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission . Together they will enhance trials conduct and increase the number and speed of clinical trials in dementia. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched the Mission in August 2022.

NIHR funding will be split over five years. It will be granted to University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). They will host and coordinate the Trials Network. There will be an open, transparent process to select sites during the programme. The coordinating centre will invite applications for membership of the D-TRC-TN. It will build capacity and expertise at each member site to optimise function.

The initial phase of the programme will focus on improving processes required to conduct dementia trials in sites. This will enhance speed and delivery. The number of sites will expand and the network community will develop over time.

The D-TRC-TN will work closely with industry partners, and the wider dementia and neurodegeneration ecosystem. The D-TRC-TN will have four key aims:

• Accelerating set up and regulatory processes for dementia studies
• Increasing industry engagement for early phase dementia trials
• Embedding patient support: enhancing recruitment, support and diversity within the D-TRC-TN and the research it supports
• Increasing capacity and expertise for early phase dementia trials, thus enhancing the number of people with dementia in the UK who can participate

Dr Catherine Mummery is Chair of the NIHR Dementia (TRC). She is also a dementia researcher at the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at UCLH. She will lead on launching and delivering this new trial network. She will work alongside the Deputy Chairs of the NIHR Dementia TRC:

• Dr Vanessa Raymont, Senior Clinical Researcher at University of Oxford
• Professor John-Paul Taylor, Professor of Translational Dementia Research at Newcastle University

Dr Catherine Mummery said: “I am honoured to be leading this important and timely initiative, which recognises we are at a historic point in dementia research with disease modifying therapies emerging. We must seize momentum, working across the UK with partners such as the Mission and industry, world class researchers, and patient representatives to build expertise, capacity, and support in a unified network of trials sites. This will accelerate therapy development for dementia, enable participation for all regardless of location or demographic, and reframe the UK as the ‘go-to’ place for gold standard conduct of early phase trials. By doing so, we will improve care for all people with dementia.”

Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Executive of the NIHR, said: “We are making a substantial investment in this Dementia Trials Network, so that we can accelerate opportunities for new treatments for patients across the country. We know the impact that this can have for people living with the disease. This ambitious Trials Network will help extend life-changing access to dementia research and make a huge contribution to our scientific understanding of this disease.”

Helen Whately, Minister for Care and Mental Health, said: “A dementia diagnosis is life-changing for patients and their loved ones. Early diagnosis of dementia is vital so people can get support to help them live with the disease and keep independent for as long as possible. This funding will help increase the number of clinical trials and the range of participants. That means more and better research to identify new tests and treatments and improve our understanding of this cruel disease.”

Members of the public can take part in dementia research through the NIHR's  Join Dementia Research service or Be Part of Research service.

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App can help people reduce their alcohol intake

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Our Dementia Statistics Hub is a comprehensive resource for statistics about dementia and dementia research.

One in two of us will be affected by dementia in our lifetime., either by caring for someone with the condition, developing it ourselves, or both..

There are 944,000 people with dementia in the UK.

This will increase to over one million by 2030 and over 1.6 million by 2050..

One in three people will develop dementia in their lifetime.

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Know someone who has been, diagnosed with dementia., discover the nation’s attitudes to dementia and research in our latest dementia attitudes monitor, search for a statistic, browse categories, introduction to the dementia statistics hub.

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Risk factors for faster aging in the brain revealed in new study

Researchers from the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford have used data from UK Biobank participants to reveal that diabetes, traffic-related air pollution and alcohol intake are the most harmful out of 15 modifiable risk factors for dementia.

The researchers had previously identified a ‘weak spot’ in the brain, which is a specific network of higher-order regions that not only develop later during adolescence, but also show earlier degeneration in old age. They showed that this brain network is also particularly vulnerable to schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.

In this new study, published in Nature Communications , they investigated the genetic and modifiable influences on these fragile brain regions by looking at the brain scans of 40,000 UK Biobank participants aged over 45.

The researchers examined 161 risk factors for dementia, and ranked their impact on this vulnerable brain network, over and above the natural effects of age. They classified these so-called ‘modifiable’ risk factors − as they can potentially be changed throughout life to reduce the risk of dementia − into 15 broad categories: blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, depressive mood, inflammation, pollution, hearing, sleep, socialisation, diet, physical activity, and education.

Professor Gwenaëlle Douaud , who led this study, said: ‘We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in aging, and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution − increasingly a major player in dementia − and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia.’

‘We have found that several variations in the genome influence this brain network, and they are implicated in cardiovascular deaths, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as with the two antigens of a little-known blood group, the elusive XG antigen system, which was an entirely new and unexpected finding.’

Image caption: To the left of the figure, the red-yellow colour denotes the regions that degenerate earlier than the rest of the brain, and are vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease. These brain areas are higher-order regions that process and combine information coming from our different senses. To the right of the figure, each dot represents the brain data from one UK Biobank participant. The overall curve shows that, in these particularly fragile regions of the brain, there is accelerated degeneration with age. Credit: G. Douaud and J. Manuello.

Professor Lloyd Elliott, a co-author from Simon Fraser University in Canada, concurs: ‘In fact, two of our seven genetic findings are located in this particular region containing the genes of the XG blood group, and that region is highly atypical because it is shared by both X and Y sex chromosomes. This is really quite intriguing as we do not know much about these parts of the genome; our work shows there is benefit in exploring further this genetic terra incognita.’

Importantly, as Professor Anderson Winkler, a co-author from the National Institutes of Health and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in the US, points out: ‘What makes this study special is that we examined the unique contribution of each modifiable risk factor by looking at all of them together to assess the resulting degeneration of this particular brain ‘weak spot’. It is with this kind of comprehensive, holistic approach − and once we had taken into account the effects of age and sex − that three emerged as the most harmful: diabetes, air pollution, and alcohol.’

This research sheds light on some of the most critical risk factors for dementia, and provides novel information that can contribute to prevention and future strategies for targeted intervention.

The paper ‘ The effects of genetic and modifiable risk factors on brain regions vulnerable to ageing and disease ’ is published in Nature Communications .

This research was funded by the UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust . The study was led by Professor Gwenaëlle Douaud , from the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), an Associate Professor at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences  (NDCN) and Research Fellow at Green Templeton College ,

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Three lessons from our latest Dementia Attitudes Monitor

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By Nathan Choat | Wednesday 01 November 2023

Today we published results from our latest Dementia Attitudes Monitor. This is the third time we’ve carried out this in-depth analysis towards dementia and research across the UK.

It provides essential insights into what people think and feel about dementia. And as we carry out the research every two years, it allows us to track how attitudes have changed over time, acting as a compass directing our work as a charity.

There’s far too much data in the report to sum up in one post. So instead, let’s dive into three of the biggest insights from the report. We’ve also spoken to two clinicians, who work with people affected by dementia every day, about how they’ve seen attitudes change.

1. Not enough people understand the true impact of dementia

One particularly striking insight from the report is that only six in ten people realise dementia is a cause of death. This is despite the fact dementia has been the biggest cause of death among adults in England and Wales almost every year since 2015, only briefly being overtaken by COVID-19 during the pandemic.

This is important because we know that recognition of dementia as a cause of death is closely linked to other attitudes about the condition.

It’s clear we have lots more work to do to educate people about the true impact of dementia.

“The more of a conversation we can have around dementia, the better.” — Dr Ben Underwood

Dr Ben Underwood, assistant professor in old age psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, thinks too many of us have simply “got used to” the dementia. He says that when COVID-19 came along, we made a big effort against it because it was new and threatening. But so far there hasn’t been the same urgency around dementia, because there’s a perception we can’t do anything about it.

Dr Ben Underwood

However, recent advances in diagnosing and treating dementia mark a turning point. Research holds huge promise, but in order to build support for a cure for dementia, we must do more to highlight its devastating impact.

At Alzheimer’s Research UK, we’re doing everything we can to spark conversations around dementia. One of the ways we’re doing this is through our new campaign film . By turning a traditional fairytale story on its head, our aim is to expose the harsh reality of this condition – and encourage more people to support vital research.

2. The majority of people are sceptical about current treatments but optimistic about the future

The results of the Monitor reflect the fact that the dementia treatments available today simply aren’t good enough. More than half of respondents see current treatments as ‘not effective’, with a further three in 10 saying they don’t know how effective treatments are.

However, scientists are making progress, with groundbreaking Alzheimer’s drugs, lecanemab and donanemab, returning positive phase 3 trial results in the last 12 months. And the report shows that people are optimistic about the future, with 56% agreeing that one day, the diseases that cause dementia will be cured.

Dr Chineze Ivenso, consultant old age psychiatrist at the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in South Wales, thinks this is because people now understand dementia much better than they used to.

“People used to believe that dementia was an inevitable part of old age, but this has started to change. They are now coming to the clinic at a much earlier stage, and they’re more receptive to learning about the condition than ever before.”

Dr Chineze Ivenso

She frequently finds herself talking to her patients about aspects of dementia she wouldn’t have been able to before. These include everything from the mechanisms behind the condition, to the most promising new techniques for early and accurate diagnosis. She’s also noticed that more people are interested in taking part in dementia research studies, hinting at a belief that one day, research will find a cure.

People used to believe that dementia was an inevitable part of old age, but this has started to change. –  Dr Chineze Ivenso

Between now and the next Dementia Attitudes Monitor, we will do more to build understanding around new treatments across our communications – whether that’s through our news site , on social media, or at one of our Lab Notes events.

3. Awareness of the ability to reduce dementia risk is still too low

A person’s risk of developing dementia is shaped by lots of different factors. Some, like age and genes, can’t be changed. But others, like diet or blood pressure for example, can. In fact, research shows that up to 40% of cases may be linked to risk factors that people can influence.

We’re raising awareness about this through our Think Brain Health campaign. However, the Monitor shows we have more work to do, with just 36% of UK adults agreeing it’s possible to reduce their risk of dementia. This is something that Dr Ben Underwood sometimes comes across in his work.

“People I see in clinics are not always aware of the things they can do to help reduce their risk. For example, people generally know that high blood pressure is bad for their health, but they may not realise that taking steps to address it could also help reduce their risk of dementia in later life.”

Dr Underwood believes that in order to make progress against dementia, we need the whole of society to be involved.

“The more of a conversation we can have around dementia, the better.”

We’re committed to doing more on prevention, which will be a key focus for the charity in the coming years. That means continuing to raise awareness through Think Brain Health, and calling on the government to deliver joined-up policies that enable people to protect their brain health throughout their lives.

Find out more

Shaping attitudes to dementia is incredibly important. The better people’s understanding, the more likely they’ll be to take action to reduce their risk, and participate in research studies to help find the treatments that will reduce the harm and heartbreak associated with dementia. They’ll also be more likely to support research into dementia, helping us accelerate our progress towards a cure.

These are just a few of the topics covered in the Dementia Attitudes Monitor, but there are many more fascinating results to explore. You can read the full report now on our website .

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Nathan Choat

Communications Officer – Campaigns & Projects

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All the latest developments from the institute

Understanding the role of microglia in Alzheimer’s using a novel humanised model of disease

Microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, are implicated in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, but the exact mechanisms behind this are not yet understood due to the complexities involved in studying them in human brain samples. A team led by Prof Bart De Strooper (UK DRI at UCL and VIB-KU Leuven) and Prof Renzo Mancuso (VIB-UAntwerp) has transplanted human microglia into mouse brains to better observe how the microglia respond to the disease environment. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, will help scientists understand the complex mechanisms involved in Alzheimer's disease.

World Down Syndrome Day: Down syndrome and dementia-associated seizures

There are approximately 6 million people worldwide who have Down syndrome. About two in three people with Down syndrome will have been diagnosed with dementia by the time they are 65. Dr Frances Wiseman (UK DRI at UCL) aims to understand dementia in people with Down syndrome, including why individuals who have Down syndrome and develop dementia also experience seizures.

UK DRI Grand Challenge: uncovering the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease

A major new UK DRI Grand Challenge project, led by Prof Karen Duff, Centre Director of the UK DRI at UCL, seeks to understand the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s, by simultaneously examining molecular and cellular changes in mice and studying the very first behavioural changes in humans at risk of the disease. Through greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms of Alzheimer's, the project could lead to the development of new biomarkers to aid in early disease detection, and therapeutics to treat the condition.

UK DRI at Cambridge researcher awarded 2024 Novo Nordisk Prize for development of revolutionary DNA sequencing techniques

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Reducing brain vascular inflammation could slow Alzheimer’s progression

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The symptoms of Parkinson's usually only start to appear when the disease has already caused substantial damage to neurons in the brain. There is a need for innovative new methods to detect the disease at a far earlier stage, before symptoms start and cells have already died.

Protective response to early changes in ALS and FTD

A new study led by Prof Adrian Isaacs (UK DRI at UCL) provides fresh insight into the early changes that occur in the brains of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and reveals a response in cells that protects against neurodegeneration. The research, published in Nature Neuroscience, could identify new therapeutic avenues to treat the diseases.

Covid-19 may have small but lasting effects on cognition and memory

Research led by Prof Paul Elliott (UK DRI at Imperial) has revealed small deficits in the performance of cognitive and memory tasks in people who had recovered from Covid-19 compared with those who had not had the virus. The study is published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

UK DRI supports MRC National Mouse Genetics Network initiative

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Key genes linked to DNA damage and human disease uncovered

A study led by Prof Gabriel Balmus (UK DRI at Cambridge) and Dr David Adams (Wellcome Sanger Institute) has uncovered hundreds of key genes linked to DNA damage, through systematic screening of nearly 1,000 genetically modified mouse lines. The work, published in Nature, provides insights into neurodegenerative diseases, as well as a potential therapeutic avenue in the form of a protein inhibitor.

UK DRI Cardiff welcomes Alun Cairns MP

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New insight into the effects of Parkinson’s on different cell types in the brain

A study led by Dr Emmanouil Metzakopian​ and Prof Matthew G. Holt has uncovered fresh insight into how different cell types in the brain are affected by Parkinson’s. The research, published in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration, provides a valuable resource for better understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in the disease.

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Massive breakthrough in Alzheimer’s treatment could ‘transform lives’

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Researchers are conducting early patient trials of a vaccine that could protect future generations from Alzheimers. 

If effective, the jab, designed to prevent the formation of toxic proteins in the brain responsible for the damage that causes the most common form of dementia, could be made widely available within the next five years. 

The team behind the research have described their work as potentially representing a ‘massive breakthrough’ in efforts to combat the devastating disease. 

Roughly 540,000 people in the UK are currently known to suffer from Alzheimers, with that figure expected to rise just short of a million by 2040. 

The most common signs are a gradual decline in memory and cognitive as well as motor function, leading eventually to death. 

A former police officer who was diagnosed with the disease last year and who has been participating in the recent trials says his life has been ‘transformed’ after receiving three doses of the vaccine, the Daily Express reports. 

Ruthie Henshall, a 57-year-old actor and singer whose late mother also had the disease, told the newspaper: ‘A drug would be a miracle because there are enormous numbers of people with dementia and it’s on the rise because we’re living longer.

‘This drug could be the hope people have been dreaming of – up there with finding the cure for cancer.’

Studies of the new treatment, backed by the government’s National Institute for Health and Care research, are being conducted at five different centres around the country in addition to two other locations in Europe and the US.

Findings from this latest research will be presented at a conference in the US city of Philadelphia later in July, and will feature brain scans showing how the vaccine affects the brain. 

There are currently 140 participants in the trials, all of whom show signs of the early stages of dementia, with one cohort aged between 50 and 85 and a second aged between 35 and 50. 

At present, it appears that if successful the vaccine will only be viable as a preventative measure, to be used before outward symptoms of the disease have begun to show.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .

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Welcome to Join Dementia Research

A place to register your interest in taking part in vital dementia research., what happens when you register.

When you sign up to Join Dementia Research, the information you provide is used to match you to studies you may be able to take part in, both online, nationally and in your local area. The service connects registered volunteers with dementia researchers across the UK who are looking for people to join their studies.

You can review your study matches once you register and then it’s your decision whether to take part. Taking part means you will make a real difference to the future of dementia care, diagnosis and treatment.  

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Smartphone app could help detect early-onset dementia cause, study finds

App-based cognitive tests found to be proficient at detecting frontotemporal dementia in those most at risk

A smartphone app could help detect a leading cause of early-onset dementia in people who are at high risk of developing it, data suggests.

Scientists have demonstrated that cognitive tests done via a smartphone app are at least as sensitive at detecting early signs of frontotemporal dementia in people with a genetic predisposition to the condition as medical evaluations performed in clinics.

Frontotemporal dementia is a neurological disorder that often manifests in midlife, where the part of the brain responsible for skills such as the capacity to plan ahead and prioritise tasks, filter distractions and control impulses, shrinks as the disease progresses.

About a third of such cases have a genetic cause, but research into the condition has been hampered by problems with early diagnosis and difficulty tracking how people are responding to treatments that may only be effective during the early stages of disease.

“Most frontotemporal dementia patients are diagnosed relatively late in the disease, because they are young, and their symptoms are mistaken for psychiatric disorders,” said the study’s senior author, Prof Adam Boxer, at the University of California, San Francisco.

Smartphones are already attracting interest as a tool for diagnosing and assessing Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. To investigate their utility in frontotemporal dementia, Boxer and his colleagues collaborated with the US-based software company Datacubed Health to develop an app that could record people’s speech while they engaged with several cognitive tests, including executive functioning assessments.

“We also created tests of walking, balance and slowed movements, as well as different aspects of language,” said Dr Adam Staffaroni, a clinical neuropsychologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and the study’s first author.

They tested the app in 360 adults at high genetic risk of developing frontotemporal dementia, including some who had not developed any obvious symptoms yet.

The research, published in JAMA Network Open , found that the app could accurately detect dementia in such individuals, and might even be more sensitive to the earliest stages of the condition than gold-standard neuropsychological evaluations that are usually performed in clinics.

Although there are no immediate plans to make the app available to the public, Staffaroni said it could help bolster research into the condition.

More than 30 such clinical trials are under way or in the planning stages, including trials of therapies that might help to slow progression of the disease in some gene carriers. “A major barrier has been a lack of outcome measures that can be easily collected and are sensitive to treatment effects at early stages of the disease.”

Frequent in-person assessments are also burdensome for patients, caregivers and clinicians. “We hope that smartphone assessments will facilitate new trials of promising therapies,” Staffaroni said.

“Eventually, the app may be used to monitor treatment effects, replacing many or most in-person visits to clinical trials’ sites.”

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Dementia risk can be cut with drinking less alcohol and cutting risk of type 2 diabetes, new research suggests

Drinking less alcohol and reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes could help people cut their chances of dementia, new research suggests.

Limiting exposure to traffic-related air pollution could also reduce the risk of developing the condition, according to the study.

It has been suggested that the findings could also help explain why certain groups may be more vulnerable to dementia.

Scientists have previously identified a weak spot in the brain, a specific area that develops later during adolescence and also shows earlier degeneration in old age.

In the new study, 161 risk factors for dementia were examined, and ranked according to their impact on this brain network, over and above the natural effects of age.

The researchers, at the University of Oxford, classified these so-called modifiable risk factors – things people can do something about, like cutting down drink or sugar – into 15 broad categories.

These were blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, depressive mood, inflammation, pollution, hearing, sleep, socialisation, diet, physical activity, and education.

The findings suggest that alcohol intake, diabetes and traffic-related air pollution are the most harmful.

According to Diabetes UK , the main things someone can do to lower their chance of developing type 2 diabetes is to eat more healthily and lose weight if needed.

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers investigated the genetic and modifiable influences on these brain regions by looking at the brain scans of 40,000 people in the UK Biobank database aged over 45.

Professor Gwenaelle Douaud, who led the study, said: “In this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution – increasingly a major player in dementia – and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia.

The study analysed the unique contribution of each controllable risk factor by looking at all of them together to assess the resulting degeneration of this particular brain weak spot.

Professor Anderson Winkler, a co-author from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in the US, said: “It is with this kind of comprehensive, holistic approach – and once we had taken into account the effects of age and sex – that three emerged as the most harmful: diabetes, air pollution, and alcohol.”

Dr Susan Mitchell, head of policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “With no treatments yet available in the UK that can stop or slow the diseases that cause dementia, there has never been a more pressing need to promote good brain health and to gain a deeper understanding on how dementia can be prevented.

“It’s generally accepted that up to 40 per cent of dementia cases are potentially preventable, so there is an enormous opportunity to reduce the personal and societal impact of dementia.”

She said the findings, based on retrospective analysis of brain scans and data from 40,000 people will help shed light on this issue further.

“The results will need confirming, both in forward-looking studies that follow participants over time, and in a more diverse study population. But they could help explain why certain groups may be more vulnerable to dementia – such as those living in highly polluted areas,” Dr Mitchell added.

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Dementia surveillance factsheet: August 2024

The national and integrated care board (ICB) area factsheets will be updated. These dementia factsheets illustrate the disparities that exist across England in relation to the diagnosis of people with dementia and the care they receive.

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Study shows 3 changeable risks for dementia

Diabetes, air pollution and alcohol consumption influence alzheimer’s.

By Lois M. Collins

Nothing’s simple when it comes to dementia, which appears to be influenced by both genetic and modifiable risk factors. But a new study finds a “weak spot” in the brain — a network of higher-order regions that develop later and can degenerate earlier than other regions — that are vulnerable to both schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Of a list of 161 modifiable risk factors for dementia, three seem to hit that region the hardest, increasing risk of dementia: diabetes, air pollution and alcohol consumption. Those are also implicated in cardiovascular deaths and Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications .

For the study, the researchers looked at brain scans of 40,000 individuals between the ages of 44 and 82 who were part of the UK Biobank database. Then they compared the images to their list of risk factors, which they broke into 15 bigger categories, including blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, depression, inflammation, pollution, hearing, sleep, social aspects of life, diet, physical activity and education attainment.

A news release from University of Oxford quoted Gwenaëlle Douaud, who led the study: “We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in aging, and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution — increasingly a major player in dementia — and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia.”

The researchers point out that the three factors may be the most harmful, but the others have a negative effect, as well. Diabetes, air pollution and alcohol intake have twice the impact of other leading factors, followed by sleep issues, excess weight, smoking and high blood pressure.

The Washington Post reported that the researchers were not able to compare the genetic and modifiable risk factors with each other.

“What makes this study special is that we examined the unique contribution of each modifiable risk factor by looking at all of them together to assess the resulting degeneration of this particular brain ‘weak spot.’ It is with this kind of comprehensive, holistic approach — and once we had taken into account the effects of age and sex — that three emerged as the most harmful: diabetes, air pollution, and alcohol,” said Anderson Winkler, a co-author from the National Institutes of Health and a professor at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, per the release.

What is dementia?

The Alzheimer’s Association calls dementia a “general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life.”

Dementia is not a disease, but rather a group of symptoms. The group says about 7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, which is the most common form of dementia. But as the number of cases increase due to the population getting older, the share of the population who has it is actually going down.

The findings are not entirely new. In 2020, a study in The Lancet reported that the age-specific incident of dementia decreased in some parts of the world, probably due to more education, better nutrition, access to health care and lifestyle changes. But there were common factors that increased risk.

The 2017 Lancet Commission had already noted a number of those, including: “less education, hypertension, hearing impairment, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, and low social contact. We now add three more risk factors for dementia with newer, convincing evidence. These factors are excessive alcohol consumption, traumatic brain injury and air pollution,” those researchers wrote.

Per the Post article, “Diabetes and alcohol consumption ‘have been consistently shown to be associated with both cerebral and cognitive decline,’ the researchers wrote in the Nature Communications study. And there is growing evidence that exposure to air pollution is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia.”

More dementia news

Also this week, a new study from University of California Davis Health reported that human brains are getting bigger, noting that the brains of people born in the 1970s are 6.6% larger by volume and 15% larger in terms of brain surface compared to the brains of folks born in the 1930s.

The findings were published in JAMA Neurology .

The researchers theorize that bigger brains means bigger brain reserve, potentially reducing risk of age-related dementia.

“Genetics plays a major role in determining brain size, but our findings indicate external influences — such as health, social, cultural and educational factors — may also play a role,” Charles DeCarli, the study’s first author, a professor of neurology who directs the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, said in a written statement .

The findings are based on brain imaging of participants in the Framingham Heart Study, which has been ongoing for decades and now involves a second and third generation of participants. Between 1999 and 2019, 3,226 participants born in the 1930s through the 1970s had MRIs done. The average age at the time of the scan was 57.

There’s also reason to believe that more modern lifestyles have increased the risk of dementia, lending further credence to the role of modifiable lifestyle-related risk factors.

The University of Southern California this week had a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that “bolsters the idea that Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are diseases of modern environments and lifestyles, with sedentary behavior and exposure to air pollution largely to blame,” per an article on SciTech Daily . The author wrote that there’s no evidence that dementia was a problem in ancient Rome and Greece.