Aberdeen pioneers illness research
City experts leading way with research
Published:
A GROUNDBREAKING drug which could help slow Alzheimer’s by a massive 81% in a year has been pioneered by scientists in Aberdeen.
And sufferers in the North-east who took part in the research are already benefiting.
The University of Aberdeen group has been working with Singapore-based firm TauRx Therapeutics.
They have developed a treatment which targets “the tangles” – masses of abnormal fibres forming inside nerve cells in the brain, which were discovered and named by scientist Alois Alzheimer.
Boddam grandfather Jimmy Hardie, 72, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2005.
Jimmy, who suffered memory blanks and mood swings, started on the trial in 2006. His wife Dorothy, 69, believes it has helped give her husband, who runs a trout fishery, a new confidence.
She said: “When he first went to an Alzheimer’s support group meeting, Jimmy did not take part much.
“Now he and a few others from our group go out and speak about their diagnosis. Jimmy would never have done anything like that before.”
She said that two years ago, her husband’s short-term memory had been very poor. And she added: “Now he is able to plan what he wants to do, go and get the tools he needs and do the task.
“It is encouraging.”
Jimmy, who worked at the nearby power station for 14 years, said: “I feel the treatment has helped me.
“Having a lot of friends and hobbies has also been a great help.”
The Aberdeen research, led by Professor Claude Wischik, was being presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Chicago this week.
The product – remberTM – is the first drug to act on the tangles in nerve cells.
Aberdeen University expert in psychiatric geratology and old age Prof Wischik said: “This is an unprecedented result in the treatment of the disease.
“We have demonstrated for the first time that it may be possible to arrest the progression of this disease by targeting the tangles which are highly correlated with Alzheimer’s disease.”
In total, 96 of the 321 people in the trial were from the North-east.
Another sufferer taking part was 61-year-old Sandra Sutherland from Aberdeen’s West End.
Mum-of-two Sandra was diagnosed in 2005 and began the trial two years ago.
She said: “When I was diagnosed I was absolutely gobsmacked.
“I tell everyone that I meet that I have Alzheimer’s, and they can’t believe it.
“Since I’ve been on the trial I feel more confident, more positive.
“I think my concentration has levelled off and not got any worse.”
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Donald Mowat said the team had been heartened by the benefits reported.
He said: “This does seem very encouraging.
“These findings now need to be confirmed in a bigger, international Phase 3 trial and the Aberdeen team are very keen to be part of that.”
There are 62,500 people with dementia in Scotland.
That figure is set to rise to between 110,000 and 114,000 by 2031 according to charity Alzheimer Scotland.
The organisation’s chief executive Jim Jackson said: “The initial results of this trial are exciting.
“Responses are extremely encouraging compared to existing treatments.”
Check out the video to see how the drug works
Readers' Comments
The Evening Express is happy to encourage discussion and debate on the topics featured within our newspaper and on our website.
However, we would urge people to respect the opinions of others even if they do not agree with them. We will not tolerate abusive comments of any type and such posts will be removed with the people responsible facing a ban from this website.
Only registered users can supply comments, and your registered name and location will automatically be appended to any comment that you upload.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using a false name or pseudonym.