We are pleased to announce that we have pledged a significant charitable contribution supporting research into frontotemporal dementia, a rare form of dementia.
The donation will support our charity partner Alzheimer’s Research UK in continuing its work in partnership with the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) and King’s College London to understand the processes that go wrong in neurodegenerative disease, in the hopes of developing early-stage diagnostics and effective treatments.
In thanks, Alzheimer’s Research UK recently allowed members of our team to see their funded research in action through a tour of King’s College London’s Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute.
The tour, which was led by Professor of Molecular Neuroscience, Christopher Miller at King’s College London, included demonstrations of the world-class advanced imaging tools, and how these allow researchers to better understand neuron activity at a molecular level. Professor Miller also explained how his research has already identified a process heavily involved in energy production within cells, and which is damaged in some forms of dementia.
“While frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is rare, it is one of the most common types of young-onset dementia, and usually develops before a person turns 65 years old. Roughly 31,000 people in the UK are living with FTD, but currently there are no treatments which slow, stop or reverse the disease. Thanks to Gateley’s generous £10,000 donation to Alzheimer’s Research UK, we’re making strides in understanding the mechanisms that go wrong in FTD,” said Professor Christopher Miller.
“The brain requires a huge amount of energy, around 20% of the total energy used by the body. Generating most of this energy, are the mitochondria – the powerhouse of the cell. Research suggests that mitochondria are damaged in FTD, and so we investigated what controls mitochondrial energy production within the cell. We have now identified key proteins involved in this process, providing us with new targets for finding potential treatments for FTD. Thanks to the continuing support from fundraising efforts like yours, donations to Alzheimer’s Research UK are supporting our search for a cure.”
