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.
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.
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. Pictured: Stock image
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.
The Duchess of Edinburgh, Patron of Race Against Dementia, meets with Dr Soraya Meftah during a visit to Edinburgh Neuroscience to hear about the work of Race Against Dementia
‘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.’
