Approved Research

Genetic architecture of healthy aging

Lay summary

Dementia directly affects around one-million people in the UK, with a predicted 1.6-million by 2050.  In 2021, dementia care cost the UK £34.7 billion, much of which is directly paid by the patient and their family.  Individuals of Black and South-Asian ancestry are disproportionately impacted by dementia.  With no cure currently available, new concepts are needed to aid the search for treatments.  This project aims to study people who have aged healthily despite being exposed to high risk factors for dementia.  Identification of the underlying biology that promotes healthy aging could be used in the future to devise new drugs against dementia.

Data from healthy individuals, for example those who have lived cognitively healthily into older age, will be examined to discover which aspects of their genetics have protected them.  Unusual genetic features will be interpreted using computer models designed to reveal how those features work, and hence how to promote healthy aging at a biological level.  The analysis will be performed on multiple groups, including individuals of Black and South Asian heritage, of greater age, and with enhanced genetic or lifestyle risk - for example, through previous head injury.

In summary, this project aims to find protective genetic mutations and characterise their underlying mechanisms.  These discoveries will help the development of new drugs that mimic natural protection and so help to prevent dementia.