Professor Julie Williams says the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is advancing rapidly
One of the UK’s leading Alzheimer’s experts believes there will be a cure for the most common form of the disease within 20 years.
Professor Julie Williams’ team at Cardiff University identified 92 genes that significantly increase the risk of developing the advanced condition.
They were aware of only three genes when their research began in 2009.
“Things are speeding up and getting better all the time,” said Professor Williams, who has studied Alzheimer’s disease for 30 years.
“I’ve learned more in the last seven years than I have in the last 20,” added the Merver Tydfil-born academy.
Alzheimer’s disease affects the brain and is the most common cause of dementia, one of the biggest causes of death in the UK for people over the age of 50.
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Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 850,000 people in the UK
Professor Williams, director of the center at Cardiff University’s Institute of Dementia Research UK, said gene therapy, along with the good understanding gleaned from international studies, provides researchers with additional information every day.
“Once you know where to start looking, you can study the effects that genes have on specific brain activity,” she added.
“Tests that cost millions in the 1990s can now be done for about £30.”
“For example, we now know that defective genes alter the way immune cells called microglia function.”
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Professor Williams says that if a person has some genetic links, Alzheimer’s cannot be prevented
“These are the brain’s ‘garbage trucks’ that remove what they perceive as garbage. They may be less efficient at removing real garbage, and mistakenly kill off healthy brain cells, including synapses.”
“Synapses are of course the connections between nerve cells, so if they are destroyed when they shouldn’t then a person loses their ability to connect, to think, and they lose memory.
Professor Williams said that studying thousands of cases made her realize that there will never be a single magic cure. Instead, a disease like heart disease or stroke must be seen as many factors contributing and many treatments will help delay or prevent it.
She added, “By 2040, I think we will be in a position to offer a range of treatment modalities and we may not know the exact cause, but one of them will be able to deal with a wide range of causes.”
Professor Williams concluded by saying that some of the drugs have already been approved for use in treating other diseases and could be in clinical use within five years.