New Gene Link To Dementia Opens Up Possibilities For Diagnos

New research published in Nature has linked a specific gene to a common type of dementia. The discovery of the connection between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and a gene called 慻ranulin' will open up an entirely new field of research in FTD as no one had yet suspected this gene was involved. The finding will also help to improve diagnosis of the illness as well as the development of treatments to help those affected.

Approximately 750,000 people in the UK have some form of dementia, the most common and widely known is Alzheimer's disease. Frontotemporal dementia is the second most common dementia in the UK. It affects 1 in 5000 people, mostly aged between 50 and 60.

One of the lead scientists involved, the Medical Research Council's Dr Stuart Pickering-Brown said: 揟he duration of the illness is often long, 7 to 10 years is common. During this period the degenerative disease is marked by loss of brain tissue in the front parts [frontal and temporal lobes] of the brain leading to behavioural and language problems. Sometimes patients also develop symptoms of motor neuron disease or Parkinson's disease in addition to dementia.

揥hile a lot of progress has been made in understanding the genetic causes of Alzheimer's disease, relatively little was known about the genes linked to FTD. Yet about half of all people with FTD have other family members with the disease. We knew around 10% of cases of FTD are caused by errors in a gene called tau. We now know that many other cases are caused by errors in the gene granulin, These results mean that we should be able to develop therapies and treatments to tackle this form of dementia.?

Both genes are found on chromosome 17. It is an extraordinary coincidence that there are two different genes on the same chromosome both causing the same disease. Most importantly, as it appears that loss of granulin causes FTD simple replacement of this maybe be an effective treatment,?Dr Pickering-Brown added.

-- Mutations in Progranulin cause tau-negative frontotemporal dementia linked to chromosome 17 Baker M, MacKenzie IR, Pickering-Brown SM et al is published in Nature www.nature.com 16th July, 1800 London time.

-- Dr Pickering-Brown is a Medical Research Council research fellow at the University of Manchester. He is one of the joint first authors of the paper which involved an international collaboration of scientists and he will be presenting the findings in the late breaking 慔ot-Topics' session at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in Madrid on Wednesday 19th July 2006.

-- The Division of Laboratory and Regenerative Medicine is in the Department of Medicine at Manchester University. The University of Manchester School of Medicine is one of the largest in the country, with almost 2000 undergraduates, 700 postgraduates and 1300 staff. The School of Medicine is a major contributor to the University's research profile and external grant income, with annual expenditure on research amounting to ?0-35 million. This funding is obtained from research councils, medical charities, the health services and industry. The School was rated 5 in both hospital-based and community-based clinical subjects in the last RAE.

-- The Medical Research Council (MRC) is funded by the UK tax-payer. It aims to improve human health. The research it supports and the scientists it trains meet the needs of the health services, the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries and universities. The MRC has funded work which has led to some of the most significant discoveries and achievements in medicine in the UK.

Medical Research Council
(责任编辑：泉水)

搜索

热门标签:

New Gene Link To Dementia Opens Up Possibilities For Diagnos