1. University of Manchester strategy for dementia research
Professor Nigel Hooper
Director of Dementia Research

2. Dementia
An umbrella term which describes a serious deterioration in mental functions, such as memory, language, orientation and judgement.
There are many different types of dementia
Alzheimer’s disease
Vascular dementia
Dementia with Lewy bodies
Frontotemporal dementia
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Other neurodegenerative diseases
Parkinson’s disease
Huntington’s disease
Motor neuron disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)

3. Dementia in the UK >800,000 people currently live with dementia
This number set to double in next 30 years
25 million people know a friend or family member with dementia
Dementia costs the UK economy £23 billion each year (mainly social care costs & unpaid carers)
Highest rates of dementia in the North West
Dementia is the most feared condition amongst those over 50
Incidence of dementia
increases with age

4. Current status of drugs for dementia
Currently no drugs available to treat the causes of dementia (only treat the symptoms)
In the last 10 years no new drugs to treat Alzheimer’s have come through clinical trials
It takes >10 years and $2billion to bring a new drug into clinical use.
Have we identified the correct targets?
Are the experimental models appropriate?
Are the clinical trials poorly designed?
Do we need to target multiple sites?

5. University of Manchester - breadth
of dementia research
Basic science research
Human science research
Clinical services
Social science research
Cell matrix
Cell biology
Genetics
Informatics
Materials
Neuroinflammation
Stem cells
Vascular studies
Clinical trials
Cognitive neuroscience
Imaging
Neuropathology
Nursing
Psychiatry
Memory clinics
Movement disorders
Neurology
Neuropsychology
Specialist dementia assessment
Stroke
Age friendly cities
Arts, music & creativity
Care & support services
Dementia friendly neighbourhoods
Health economics
Marginalised groups
Psychosocial & sensory interventions

6. Dementia@Manchester network–
from cell to society
aims to:
contribute significantly to understanding neurodegenerative mechanisms;
identify potential treatments for, and evidence for prevention of, dementia;
discover and inform on how to live well with dementia at an individual, family and society level.

7. Dementia@Manchester Biological mechanisms & therapeutics
Early diagnosis & stratification
Treatment & management
Living well with dementia
Patient & public involvement & engagement
Mention that National Clinical Director for Dementia, Alistair Burns, leads the treatment & management programme)
Connected health technologies & informatics
Evaluation, implementation & translation
- bringing forward real benefits to people living with dementia

8. Dementia@Manchester – working with our partners
NHS trusts
MAHSC
Salford Institute for Dementia
Manchester Metropolitan University
Dementias Platform UK
Alzheimer’s Research UK
Alzheimer’s Society
AgeUK
Funding partners
Community partners
Industry partners
Manchester City Council

9. Greater Manchester Dementia Consortium
Monday 16th May 2016 (Dementia Awareness Week)
Signed an agreement to share knowledge and work together on the full range of dementia issues – from biology to social care.

10. To make Greater Manchester the best place in the world to live for people with dementia.
Within Devolution of the Health and Social Care budget to GM – the opportunity to revolutionise the experiences of people affected by dementia.

11. a UK powerhouse for dementias research designed to fast-track scientific understanding, treatments and the prevention of the disease.
Established by the MMRC in June 2014, it is a £53 million collaboration between universities and drug companies to transform the best dementia research into the best treatments as quickly as possible.
It actively encourages leading researchers to work together, giving them better access to the wealth of information on health and lifestyle through huge population studies and arms them with the latest technology, to scan the body and brain and analyse tests.

12. Molecular imaging network
Dementias Platform UK
Molecular imaging network
Informatics network
Stem cell network
Dementias Platform UK
Disease stratification
Biomarker discovery
Drug discovery
“to achieve a step-change in UK dementia research capacity through establishing national networks of existing and emerging centres of excellence in imaging (PET/MRI), informatics and cell biology”

13. Overview of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology
“Dementia in a dish”
Human iPSC-derived cortical neurons
Hockemeyer & Jaenisch (2016) Cell Stem Cell 18, 573

14. Harmonisation of protocols Collaborative projects
Dementias Platform UK stem cell network
Sharing of expertise
Harmonisation of protocols
Gold standard lines
Shared database
Coordinated training
Collaborative projects
Dementia Stem Cell Network
Cambridge
Cardiff
Edinburgh
Manchester
Oxford
UCL

15. UK Dementia Research Institute
£250 million
bring together scientists and experts from across the globe to transform the landscape of dementia research and firmly secure the UK’s reputation as a world leader in research and development against dementia.

16. University of Manchester: Dementia Research Institute centre
Neurovascular dysfunction
4. Glycocalyx & ECM
perturbation
Allan
1. Proteostasis
dysfunction
Pickering-Brown
5. In vivo
imaging
Parkes
Pathological triad consisting of:
vascular damage
neuronal injury and/or neurodegeneration
neuroinflammation
3. Stem cell
models
Hooper
2. Innate immune
sensing
Brough

17. 3. Bring in novel technology/ approaches from other disciplines
MRC/UoM Momentum Award: Institutional pump-priming award for dementia
ECM regulation of inflammation in vascular dementia (Allan & Schwartz)
Electrical stimulation to delay the onset of dementia (Parkes, Casson et al.
3D cell printing to generate a model of the NVU (Wang, Hooper & Domingos)
Nanoparticles to detect biomarkers in dementias (Kostarelos, Lawrence & Hooper)
Mobile psychometrics for studying inflammation & dementia (Brough & Buchan)
NeuroD - Platform Technology for Neurodegenerative Diseases
EPSRC-funded initiative to create a network of technologists, coming together to identify new technological areas which will have a significant and lasting impact on neurodegenerative diseases.