University of Reading scientists publish study into dementia
Their findings could help find a treatment
Last updated 14th Apr 2021
A potential treatment for dementia and epilepsy could look to reduce the amounts of a toxic gas in the brain has been revealed in a new study using rat brain cells.
The research shows that treatments to reduce levels of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the brain may help to ward off damage caused by the gas. By testing rat brain cells, the team of scientists from the University of Reading, University of Leeds and John Hopkins University in the USA found that H2S is involved in blocking a key brain cell gateway that helps the brain to communicate effectively.
Dr Mark Dallas, Associate Professor in Cellular Neuroscience at the University of Reading told us:
"So this starts to give us a picture of what might be happening in peoples brains that go on to develop dementia, elevated levels of the gas increases excitability in our brains and we know that is a common factor in people living with dementia and other diseases such as epilepsy"
He says their next challenge is to find a treatment:
"We're not going to turn away from the challenge of turning this into a medicine or a drug that's going to be available on the market, this is the beginning of a journey to actually find new entities that we can then take forward into clinical trials
"I'm really hopeful that we're looking at a disease modifying treatment within 5 years, and I think that's a genuine possibility with some of the research coming out across the world as scientists try to tackle dementia"
The research has been published in Scientific Reports