Latest news with #ClaireDurrant
Daily Mail
01-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Scientists are using living human brain tissue to study Alzheimer's on their hunt for a cure - and experts are expecting a breakthrough
British scientists have used the tissue of a living human brain to mimic the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, in a study which will boost the search for a cure. The team from the University of Edinburgh used the healthy brain tissue from living NHS patients and exposed it to a protein linked to Alzheimer's, from patients who passed away from it. In a stunning scientific leap, researchers unlocked a rare chance to watch dementia take hold in human brain cells and experts believe this game-changing method could fast-track drug testing and crank up the odds of finally finding a cure. The study involved using tiny fragments of healthy brain tissue from cancer patients while they underwent routine surgery to remove tumours at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Once the pieces were collected, they were put into glass bottles with oxygenated artificial spinal fluid and taken into labs where they were sliced into thin pieces, less than a third of a millimetre thick and were kept in incubators to replicate the body temperature. Scientists then took the deadly amyloid beta straight from the brains of Alzheimer's victims and unleashed it on healthy brain tissue in the lab and watched as the disease developed. It was found that the brain did not try to repair the damage caused by the toxic protein, and even small changes were enough to disrupt brain cells. This will help scientists in their race to find a cure to the disease, and according to the leader of the experiment, it is bringing the scientific community 'one step closer' to finding a cure for it. Dr Claire Durrant said: 'We believe this tool could help accelerate findings from the lab into patients, bringing us one step closer to a world free from the heartbreak of dementia. 'These findings are a testament to the incredible support of my funders and the hard work of my team members Dr Robert McGeachan and Dr Soraya Meftah, who led on the experiments.' Sir Jackie Stewart OBE, founder of Race Against Dementia, which has supported Dr Durrant's laboratory since 2019 said: 'It's a horrendous reality that as things stand, one in three people born today, will die with dementia. 'Someone develops dementia every three seconds – and we still don't have a cure. I created Race Against Dementia to challenge this awful disease in the fullest sense. 'Our collaboration across industries allows us to think more keenly and faster, and the breakthrough that we have achieved shows what is possible when science moves faster, with new tools and fresh thinking. 'Our unique program is enabling us to test potential treatments which are bringing us closer to a world without dementia. I am sure that for you, like me, that cannot happen soon enough.' Professor Tara Spires-Jones, Group Leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh said: 'This important work by Dr Durrant's team brings a new tool to scientists' toolbox to better understand Alzheimer's disease and how to treat it. 'The use of living human tissue samples generously donated by people undergoing surgery to remove brain tumours allows scientists to probe how living human brain reacts to toxic proteins produced in Alzheimer's, and in future will allow testing of whether new treatments are effective in human brain. 'This cutting-edge study is an example of how the UK Dementia Research Institute is at the forefront of global efforts to understand and treat Alzheimer's.'
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
In breakthrough study, scientists watch dementia unfold using live brain cells
For the first time, a team of researchers have used living human brain tissue to see how dementia unfolds in the brain cells. "Experts said the new way of studying the disease could make it easier to test new drugs and boost the chances of finding ones that work," The Guardian reported citing a study by researchers from the University of Edinburgh. "In the study, scientists and neurosurgeons in Edinburgh teamed up to show for the first time how a toxic form of a protein linked to Alzheimer's, amyloid beta , can stick to and destroy vital connections between brain cells." Amyloid beta is a sticky protein that plays a big role in dementia, especially Alzheimer's. In a healthy brain, it's cleared out regularly. But sometimes, it starts to pile up and form clumps or plaques between brain cells kind of like unwanted gunk. These clumps mess with how brain cells talk to each other and can trigger inflammation, making things worse over time. This buildup is one of the early signs doctors look for when diagnosing Alzheimer's. For the study, the researchers collected tiny fragments of health brain tissue from cancer patients who were admitted at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. The collected tissues were put in glass bottles filled with oxygenated artificial spinal fluid and taken to the lab for study. "There, samples were sliced into thin pieces, less than a third of a millimetre thick, and laid out in small dishes. Each piece of living brain tissue was kept in a nutrient-rich liquid, inside an incubator at 37C to mimic body temperature," the report says. The team found that when exposed to the toxic protein, the brain did not attempt to repair damage. "Even small changes in natural levels of amyloid beta – increasing or decreasing – were enough to disrupt brain cells. This suggests that the brain requires a finely tuned sweet spot of the protein to function properly," Dr Claire Durrant, a Race Against Dementia fellow and UK Dementia Research Institute emerging leader at the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh told the media outlet. Hope for a cure for dementia? 'The use of living human tissue samples generously donated by people undergoing surgery to remove brain tumours allows scientists to probe how living human brain reacts to toxic proteins produced in Alzheimer's, and in future will allow testing of whether new treatments are effective in human brain," Prof Tara Spires-Jones, group leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute told the media. This breakthrough will help scientists focus on identifying drugs most likely to prevent the loss of synapses—critical connections that enable communication between brain cells and are essential for healthy brain function. Alzheimer's targets these synapses, and their deterioration is a strong predictor of memory loss and impaired cognitive abilities. Dementia in the US Dementia is becoming a major health challenge in the U.S., especially as the population ages. Right now, over 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, and that number is expected to double in the next couple of decades. It's not just about forgetting names or where you put your keys; dementia slowly affects thinking, reasoning, memory, and even basic day-to-day functions. It can hit families hard, both emotionally and financially, as care needs increase over time. What's worrying is that many people still confuse dementia with normal aging, which delays diagnosis and treatment. Scientists are exploring everything from lifestyle changes to experimental drugs that target harmful proteins like amyloid beta and tau. The goal? Help people with dementia live with dignity and independence for as long as possible. It's a tough journey, but with awareness, compassion, and science, there's hope on the horizon. Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Business Mayor
30-04-2025
- Health
- Business Mayor
Living human brain tissue used to mimic Alzheimer's in breakthrough study
Scientists have used living human brain tissue to mimic the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, in a breakthrough that will accelerate the hunt for a cure. In a world first, a British team successfully exposed healthy brain tissue from living NHS patients to a toxic form of a protein linked to Alzheimer's – taken from patients who died from the disease – to show how it damages connections between brain cells in real time. The groundbreaking move offered a rare and powerful opportunity to see dementia developing in human brain cells. Experts said the new way of studying the disease could make it easier to test new drugs and boost the chances of finding ones that work. Dementia presents a big threat to health and social care systems across the world. The number of people affected is forecast to triple to nearly 153 million by 2050, which underlines why finding new ways to study the disease and speed up the search for treatments is a health priority. In the study, scientists and neurosurgeons in Edinburgh teamed up to show for the first time how a toxic form of a protein linked to Alzheimer's, amyloid beta, can stick to and destroy vital connections between brain cells. Tiny fragments of healthy brain tissue were collected from cancer patients while they were undergoing routine surgery to remove tumours at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Living brain tissue cultures are placed inside an incubator set at 37C to mimic body temperature. Scientists dressed in scrubs were stationed in operating theatres alongside surgical teams, ready to receive the healthy brain tissue, which would otherwise have been discarded. Once the pieces of brain were retrieved, scientists put them in glass bottles filled with oxygenated artificial spinal fluid before jumping into taxis to transport the samples to their lab a few minutes away. 'We pretty much ran back to the lab,' said Dr Claire Durrant, a Race Against Dementia fellow and UK Dementia Research Institute emerging leader at the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. There, samples were sliced into thin pieces, less than a third of a millimetre thick, and laid out in small dishes. Each piece of living brain tissue was kept in a nutrient-rich liquid, inside an incubator at 37C to mimic body temperature. 'And then we start experiments almost straight away,' Durrant said. Fragments of human brain were kept alive in dishes for up to a fortnight, with the patient's permission. Researchers extracted the toxic form of amyloid beta from people who died from Alzheimer's disease and then applied it to the healthy living brain tissue in their dishes. 'We're trying to mimic Alzheimer's disease,' said Durrant. From left: Dr Claire Durrant, Sir James Dyson and Sir Jackie Stewart. Photograph: Douglas Robertson Unlike when exposed to a normal form of the protein, the brain did not attempt to repair damage caused by the toxic form of amyloid beta, her team found. Even small changes in natural levels of amyloid beta – increasing or decreasing – were enough to disrupt brain cells. This suggests that the brain requires a finely tuned sweet spot of the protein to function properly, Durrant said. 'Working alongside the neurosurgical team at the University of Edinburgh, we have shown that living human brain slices can be used to explore fundamental questions relating to Alzheimer's disease,' she said. Read More Scottish government wants drug possession to be legal skip past newsletter promotion Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion 'We believe this tool could help accelerate findings from the lab into patients, bringing us one step closer to a world free from the heartbreak of dementia.' The breakthrough will enable scientists to home in on drugs with the best chance of preventing the loss of synapses – connections that allow the flow of messages between brain cells and are vital to healthy brain function. Alzheimer's attacks synapses and their loss strongly predicts reduced memory and thinking abilities. Durrant's team also found that brain slices taken from the temporal lobe, a region known to be affected early in Alzheimer's, released higher levels of tau, another key disease protein. This may explain why this part of the brain is particularly vulnerable in early Alzheimer's, as increased tau release may enable toxic forms of this protein to spread faster between cells. The research was backed by Race Against Dementia, a charity formed by Sir Jackie Stewart after his wife's dementia diagnosis, and a £1m donation from the James Dyson Foundation, a charity supporting medical research and engineering education. Dyson said the breakthrough represented progress 'towards solving one of the most devastating problems of our time'. 'Working with brain surgeons and their consenting patients to collect samples of living human brain and keep them alive in the lab is a groundbreaking method,' he said. 'It allows researchers to better examine Alzheimer's disease on real human brain cells rather than relying on animal substitutes, such as mice.' Prof Tara Spires-Jones, group leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute, hailed the important development. Seeing early Alzheimer's in real-time provided a new tool for scientists to better understand the disease and how to treat it, she said. She said: 'The use of living human tissue samples generously donated by people undergoing surgery to remove brain tumours allows scientists to probe how living human brain reacts to toxic proteins produced in Alzheimer's, and in future will allow testing of whether new treatments are effective in human brain.'
