Research Profiles - Aging on your mind

The number of Canadians afflicted with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (ARD) is expected to more than double in the next 30 years, to 1,125,000 from 500,000. The economic burden associated with ARD is expected to grow to $152 billion from $15 billion. Meanwhile, there remains no effective treatment that can actually slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease, just drugs that treat symptoms.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is funding research to help alleviate the health, social and economic burden of Alzheimer's disease, and Canadian researchers are making strides in all areas.

Dr. Lili-Naz Hazrati, for instance, is gaining a better understanding of the role that synapses – the connections between neurons – play in Alzheimer's disease. The focus of much research has been on neuronal death, but she thinks that may simply be the most visible manifestation of loss that starts elsewhere in the brain. Her work could lead to the development of therapies that can slow the disease, or even stop it in its tracks.

Dr. Donald Weaver shares that goal. Through painstaking work, he has narrowed down the search for a compound that will interfere with the misfolding proteins that play a role in Alzheimer's disease. Now he's testing that compound to see if it could form the basis for a drug that can treat the disease.

While Dr. Hazrati's and Dr. Weaver's research could lead to new treatments that slow down Alzheimer's disease, they won't be able to reverse damage that's already occurred. That's why Dr. Sylvie Belleville's research is so important. She has determined the best ways to test people suffering from mild memory loss as they age to determine who among them will go on to develop ARD. This early diagnosis means that treatment can start earlier, to forestall damage before it happens.

And Dr. Pia Kontos is focusing on those whose disease has progressed to the point where they are in long-term care facilities. Dr. Kontos believes that, even when they can no longer speak, people with Alzheimer's disease can still communicate who they are and what is important to them. She is using drama to help caregivers understand these communications. She has found that when caregivers see their patients as persons first, it makes care much easier and reduces the need for physical restraints and drugs to control behaviour.

All of these researchers are contributing to the complex whole that comprises the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Recognizing this very complexity, CIHR is spearheading the creation of the International Collaborative Research Strategy for Alzheimer's disease (ICRSAD), an initiative that will bring together the national strategies of many different countries to facilitate the integration and application of research findings. Our goal is to reduce the personal, social and economic impact of ARD by answering several important questions:

1. Can we identify reliable and important risk factors for the development of ARD?
2. Can we improve the early diagnosis of ARD?
3. Can we develop early interventions, both therapeutic and behavioural/lifestyle, to delay the onset and progression of ARD?
4. Are there effective prevention strategies?
5. How do we ensure the optimal response of the health system to individuals with, or at risk of ARD?

Researchers such as those profiled here will help us answer these questions, contributing to Canada's ability, as a society and as a member of the international community, to deal with the rising tide of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias before it hits.

Dr. Anne Martin-Matthews
Scientific Director
CIHR Institute of Aging