Alzheimer’s Research Disease Needs New Strategy, Scientists Say

Rebecca Lewis May 21, 2014

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Animal research into new therapies has failed to deliver after years of experiments. Welfare campaigners say. Because of this, they propose a shift in medical research priorities to meet the challenge of fighting dementia.

Alzheimer’s Research UK said no single approach could provide answers to such a complex disease.

"Medical research is at a tipping point,” said Dr Gillian Langley, a scientist and consultant for the animal welfare charity, Humane Society International. She is among a growing body of scientists who believe current research relies too much on animal models.

"There is a growing realisation that animal studies are not producing the breakthroughs we’re hoping for."

Dr Langley said it is time to consider a new paradigm in medical research for Alzheimer’s disease.

Research was "lagging behind" areas such as toxicology, which is using research based on molecular disease pathways within cells and new tools such as genomics, she said.

"We need this overarching view - a new framework so we can use these 21st Century tools."

New model for research

Other scientists say human-based methods of research, once regarded as experimental, are already yielding results.

Professor Paul Lawrence Furlong of Aston University carries out brain imaging to try to develop methods for early diagnosis of dementia in patients.

"We’re supportive of initiatives to move forward the human model for good scientific reasons," he said.

"In Alzheimer’s, at the cellular level, many animal models are valuable. When we move up the model of complexity, there’s a point at which the animal model becomes less valid."

Researchers are working on stem cells (the master cells of the human body) to model Alzheimer’s disease, which may eventually provide more robust ways of testing treatments.

"These cells were once skin cells that have been reprogrammed to become stem cells again," said Dr Hill.” said Dr Eric Hill at Aston University.

"They were then differentiated to become neurons and astrocytes.

"The exciting thing about this technology is that you can take cells from patients with a disease and then try to create a model of this disease in a dish."

But according to Alzheimer’s Research UK, there is no single approach could address such a complex disease, with animal models, brain studies and new approaches involving stem cells all playing a role.

"Alzheimer’s is a complex disease and the brain is a complex organ," said head of research Simon Ridley.

"I think modelling that in a cell culture or in a dish, it’s a huge challenge.

"So I think it’s very important that we keep a broad perspective on the different types of research, really to try to answer specific questions."

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Alzheimer’s research ’needs new strategy’