Predicting and preventing dementia.

Dementia and cognitive impairment (where people struggle with memory, concentration and problem solving) are devastating and affect an increasing number of people globally.

Currently, there are very limited treatments available. Problems with blood vessels (vascular disease) and blood flow to the brain are a major contributor to development of cognitive impairment and dementia.

Why funding is needed

A contribution of £75,000 will enable us to enrol 30 people without a history of stroke or dementia for a specialised MRI scan and cognitive tests, which will then be repeated two years later.

We will then compare brain health in those people with and without a stroke, and see which measures from the MRI scans can be used to predict who will develop cognitive impairment or dementia.

These results will also help us to develop new treatments to prevent cognitive decline and dementia.

What researchers are doing

We want to find out whether our novel brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements of cerebral blood flow provide more information about the health of the brain than a standard clinical scan.

We are using our novel MRI scan measurements and cognitive tests to discover how changes in the brain in people with vascular disease determine overall brain health and the risk of developing dementia.

We have enrolled people soon after a stroke who have received the MRI scans of the brain and cognitive tests after six months, and again two years later.

We now also need to see what happens to brain health in people who have not had a stroke, and do not have dementia, but are potentially at risk.