Cases of dementia may arise from DNA 'spelling mistakes' - Alzheimer's Society comment
Dr James Pickett, Head of Research
| Alzheimer’s Society
Research from the University of Cambridge suggests our brain makes ‘spelling mistakes’ as it copies DNA and that this could potentially result in dementia.
The small errors that can occur as brains develop are often harmless, but can sometimes lead to conditions such as cancer or dementia. It’s interesting to see that many of the mutations in this study were found in the area of the brain that Alzheimer’s starts in. It highlights an important area of research to consider, however because this is such a small study we can’t jump to conclusions yet.
There will be around 1 million people with dementia by 2021. Our researchers are working hard to learn more about the inherited and non-inherited genes that could cause dementia, so that we can understand more to help find new treatments.
