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The Independent
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
The Crown actor Josh O'Connor ‘in awe' of uncle living with early Alzheimer's
Josh O'Connor, who played Prince Charles in The Crown, has said he is 'in awe' of his uncle who is living with young-onset Alzheimer's disease. The actor, who also starred in Challengers, is supporting his uncle Bernard Bunting's bid to raise £1 million for a new Rare Dementia Support Centre in London. Former soldier Mr Bunting, 67, developed dementia symptoms around the age of 60 but was not diagnosed until three years ago. On Sunday, he is setting off on a 4,200-mile bike ride round the coast of Britain for the National Brain Appeal to support the world's first rare dementia support centre, which will open next year in London. More than 70,800 people in the UK are living with young-onset dementia, which occurs when the condition develops before the age of 65. O'Connor said: 'I am in awe of my uncle Bernard for taking on this challenge and not letting his diagnosis hold him back. 'Knowing how determined he is, he will push through physical boundaries to complete this immense challenge and reach his fundraising goals.' Mr Bunting's father was the sculptor John Bunting and his sister is the journalist and author Madeleine Bunting. Mr Bunting is currently taking part in a clinical trial led by Professor Catherine Mummery, head of clinical trials at the UCL Dementia Research Centre, to test a new generation of drugs aimed at slowing down the progress of young-onset Alzheimer's. Mr Bunting said: 'Taking part in this clinical trial is really important to me. 'The best-case scenario is that it slows the progression of my Alzheimer's, but what is also crucial is how these trials will help researchers learn more about the disease and benefit others like me in the future.' He added: 'For me, life carries on – you don't feel it every day. 'In fact, although there are some things I can't do as well as I could in the past, I feel no different to when I was at school 50 years ago. 'I'm lucky, I'm reasonably fit and I've got lots of outdoor pursuits.' Mr Bunting lives between London and Yorkshire with his wife Caroline. They have two daughters, Emily and Anna. A keen cyclist, his goal is to raise £1m in the form of 100,000 one-off donations of £10 from individual sponsors. Starting from Putney Bridge on Sunday, he will travel south and follow the coast around Cornwall, Wales, then north to Scotland before heading back down to London. He is expecting the journey to take seven to eight weeks. 'When you look at a map of the UK, it's absolutely staggering – all the estuaries, rivers, the ups and downs,' he said. 'I'm fascinated by that and, over the past 18 months, I have trained hard, and mapped out my own 4,200-mile route around the coast of England, Wales and Scotland, setting up a satellite navigation system to guide me around it. 'My route around, will include a total elevation of 57,000 metres (18,7007ft) – almost the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest from sea level, every week for the seven or so weeks of the trip.' Claire Wood Hill, chief executive of the National Brain Appeal, said: 'The challenge that Bernard has set himself is truly awe-inspiring and we are incredibly grateful. 'The Rare Dementia Support Centre really will transform the lives of people affected by these devastating conditions. 'We will be following his progress closely and wish him the very best of luck.'
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Exercise could lead to brain changes that help stave off dementia, study finds
Keeping active throughout life – particularly before the age of 50 – leads to changes in the brain that could help stave off dementia, according to a study. Researchers suggest this could be down to exercise helping to preserve the volume in the area of the brain that helps with thinking and memory. Those who exercised throughout life were also less likely to experience cognitive decline even if they had key markers of Alzheimer's disease, such as a build up of the protein amyloid in the brain. For the study, researchers analysed data from Insight46, a sub-study of the National Survey of Health and Development which has followed 5,362 people since their birth in England, Scotland and Wales during one week in March 1946. Some 468 people – aged 70 at the time – were included in the analysis. Dr Sarah-Naomi James, who is based at the UCL Dementia Research Centre and MRC unit for lifelong health and ageing at UCL, told the PA news agency: 'When we're thinking about brain changes, one of the biggest predictors of how big your brain volume is is age. 'So the fact that we've got exactly the same people born in the same week takes that into account.' The team collected information on how many times a person took part in activities such as walking, swimming, cricket, rugby and football over the course of three decades, before and after they turned 50. Brain scans taken when participants were aged 70 were then analysed. The study found exercising throughout life was 'associated with better cognitive functioning at age 70, even in those with early markers of Alzheimer's disease', with the benefits more pronounced in women. People who reported exercising once or more a month before the age of 50 tended to have less shrinking in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that helps with learning and memory. Dr James added: 'It's a really important part of the brain, and we're showing that it's actually larger. 'We call it preservation of this area of the brain that is usually starting to decline and that is responsible for the early signs of dementia.' The benefits of activity before the age of 50 could be linked to the intensity of exercise and the kinds of activity people were doing in their 30s and 40s, Dr James said, although more research is needed to confirm this. While future studies may 'shed light on the mechanisms of physical activity as a potential disease-modifying intervention', Dr James said her team's findings, published in Brain Communications, 'add a little bit about the question of how, or why'. 'Why is exercise good for us? It makes intuitive sense, but we still actually don't know lots about, we call it the mechanisms, the pathways – what is it about being physically active that is good for for our brain,' she added. 'For instance, we look at something like dementia and we say 'there's a pattern that we can see replicated lots of times, people who are physically active, they they're less likely to have dementia'. 'But what we're showing is that even before they have dementia, they are able to tolerate and keep their cognitive function, regardless of if they start to have the early signs in the brain. 'It might be to do this preservation of the specific area of the brain. And then also you're able to tolerate the pathology for longer. 'So it means that perhaps we're not changing the disease itself, but we're changing perhaps when you might start to develop symptoms.' According to Alzheimer's Research UK, which funded the study alongside the the Medical Research Council, some 982,000 people are estimated to be living with dementia in the UK. This figure is projected to rise to more than 1.4 million in 2040. Dr James said: 'It's never too late, it's never too early. People who are active, it's really good for your brain. 'But actually, even if you are later in life, and even starting to have disease symptoms, it could still be beneficial.' She added that she would like policies to emphasise 'the importance of access to physical activity throughout the life'. 'We can think about policies around schools, which is really important, but especially thinking about throughout the life – the early 30s, when people are starting to juggle careers and families. Then thinking about the 50s, and health is changing but we need to adapt and be physically active,' Dr James said. David Thomas, head of policy and public affairs at Alzheimer's Research UK, added: 'Dementia is not just an inevitable part of ageing, and finding ways to prevent people from ever developing it is a vital part of our mission for a cure. 'While there is no sure-fire way to prevent dementia, there are some things within our control that can reduce our risk, including keeping active and looking after our heart health, challenging our brains and keeping connected to the people around us. 'The evidence shows that it's never too early or late to start making positive changes.'
