Scientists explore triggers for dementia

Scientists in Edinburgh are conducting research to find the exact trigger for dementia in later life. They are investigating why proteins are apt to clump together in the body as people age. The clumps affect the physical processes and can have negative effects on health, triggering Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

As protein builds up in the body the accumulations can also give rise to the cloudy vision caused by cataracts.

The research will concentrate on how misshapen proteins bind to one another so they can find out the causes. In this way they will be able to design drugs to prevent this happening. The focus of the study will be the protein insulin. However, most proteins can assume a shape that is liable to clumping so the scientists' results can apply to all proteins in the body.

Head of the research team Dr Cait MacPhee of the School of Physics and Astronomy a the University of Edinburgh said: "We know that proteins often bunch together, causing processes in the body to break down.

"Because this problem is common to lots of diseases, we hope that if we can understand how it occurs, it will offer insights into a range of conditions that affect people as they get older."

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