Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. The disease causes brain cells to die and ultimately the brain starts to shrink. Symptoms include persistent memory loss, vagueness, loss of enthusiasm, deteriorating social skills and an inability to process information. Australia has over 225,000 people diagnosed with the disease and it is believed as many as 730,000 people will be affected by 2050. While primarily a disease for people over 65 years, currently nearly 10,000 Australians have younger onset dementia. Tasmania, being home to Australia's oldest population has one of the highest rates of Alzheimer's disease with nearly 6000 cases in 2008. Menzies researchers are searching for therapeutic methods of treating and preventing Alzheimer's disease.

This disease is being researched in the following projects:

Research Projects

What is the role of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in Alzheimer's disease pathology?

Neuroepigenetics

Identifying the Earliest Brain Changes Associated with Dementia

Mechanisms of Synaptic Scaling in the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease

Mechanisms that Cause Synaptic Dystrophy in Alzheimer's Disease

Mechanisms that Control the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease

The Genetics of Ageing: The TASCOG Study and the CHARGE Consortium