A top Dundee scientist has been awarded a £235,000 grant for her research into dementia.
Dr Fiona McLean is working to understand the causes of Alzheimer’s disease.
She has received the funding as part of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s £2 million commitment to 15 new research projects across the country.
The Dundee University academic's grant was announced to mark the start of Dementia Awareness Week.
In her project, Dr McLean will study the blood-brain barrier and how it acts differently in Alzheimer’s.
The blood-brain barrier deteriorates in the disease, allowing toxic substances to enter the brain.
Dr McLean will look at when and how the build-up of amyloid causes the blood-brain barrier to break down.
The aim is to find ways to reverse these changes in the very early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and keep the brain healthy.
Dr McLean said: “My work focuses on a group of specialised cells in the brain that forms a barrier between blood vessels and the rest of our brain cells.
“This layer of protection controls what is allowed to enter our brain’s environment, but in diseases like Alzheimer’s this barrier can become leaky and let in toxic molecules.
“My research will provide insights on how the blood-brain barrier becomes leaky in Alzheimer’s with the hope of finding ways to slow down, stop or even reverse this happening.”
Dr Sara Imarisio, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said, “Dementia affects nearly one million people in the UK, including around 90,000 in Scotland alone.
“This condition is not an inevitable part of getting older, but the result of diseases that damage the brain.”
“The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, and ground-breaking research in Dundee will help to unpick the complex processes that contribute to its causes and drive progress towards new treatments.”
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