Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common form of young-onset dementia, with several different subtypes involving changes in behaviour, personality and language skills.
Usually seen in people with mid-to-late-stage dementia, sundown syndrome is the appearance of regular behavioural changes such as agitation and confusion around sunset.
Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a type of young-onset dementia affecting vision that is caused not by problems with the eyes, but by damage to the back of the brain.
We most often associate the symptoms of dementia with high-profile conditions such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease or Parkinson\u2019s. But dementia comes in many forms, and has many causes.
We caught up with Professor John Gallacher, Director of Dementias Platform UK and Professor of Cognitive Health at Oxford University, to get his thoughts on the current state of play in dementia research \u2013 and what the future might hold.
Supporting a family member through dementia is not easy, and the extra challenges introduced by the coronavirus lockdown can make matters even more challenging. Guest blogger Ruby Clarkson summarises the best advice and the help that's available.
Luke Whiley won a DPUK grant to investigate gut-brain interactions. On World Diabetes Day, he writes about the links between bacteria, diabetes and dementia.
Research shows that our lifestyles can affect the health of our brains, and that making a few positive changes can help protect us as we get older. Dr Ivan Koychev is a clinician-scientist at Dementias Platform UK and a senior clinical researcher in Oxford University\u2019s Department of Psychiatry.
There are 100+ researchers, 19 different organisations, 8 different sites and a fearless team conducting it all. Alzheimer\u2019s research today has got so much bigger in its detail and scope. In this blog, Tony, Trial Coordinator of the Deep and Frequent Phenotyping study, gives the inside track on what it\u2019s like to be part of such ambitious research.
To better understand and treat the diseases that cause dementia, researchers rely on data provided by health study volunteers who, year on year, undergo a variety of tests. As part of joining Great Minds our members, who come from previous health studies, are asked to complete online- or smartphone-based cognitive tasks. In her blog, Leona Wolters \u2013 Research Assistant on Great Minds \u2013 describes what cognition is and how cognitive assessments help researchers find the right people for the right trials.
Catherine Calvin, an analyst at Dementias Platform UK (DPUK), investigates population study data of adults in midlife and older, to understand factors that relate to the risk of developing dementia in later life. In a recent paper published in Nature\u2019s Scientific Reports, Catherine demonstrates that genetic susceptibility to developing obesity \u2013 a contributing risk factor for dementia \u2013 may be modified by lifestyle habits.
Ivan Koychev, Great Minds lead and Clinical Scientist at Dementias Platform UK (DPUK), describes an exciting new chapter in dementia research which, with the support of generous new members of Great Minds, promises to accelerate the development of innovative new treatments.
'I\u2019d thought it was all doom and gloom for dementia research\u2019 Marianne said. \u2018But I\u2019d not understood that sometimes this is because testing on volunteers only takes place too late'. DPUK brought Marianne Talbot \u2013 a cohort participant, and Ivan \u2013 an old-age psychiatrist, together to discuss the bright prospects cohorts offer dementia research.
Five members of the public, all committed to the fight against dementia, recently joined us round the table in London. They shared with us their perspectives of what is critical for volunteers to know before joining research studies. We discovered that clear communication around data security and the volunteer\u2019s control over their contribution is vital to build trust.
As a data curation research assistant for DPUK, Josh is chipping away at the coalface of DPUK\u2019s mission to bring cohort data together into a powerful resource for researchers. In his blog he allows us an insight into a key job that makes it possible for researchers to compare data across different cohorts in the Data Portal.
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