Typical brain images of 70 year-old subjects: a healthy subject (left) and a patient with Alzheimer's. The colour codes the thickness of the cortex (the more blue, the thinner).

Dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Finding the keys to unlocking the secrets of dementia, and particularly Alzheimer’s disease, will provide effective ways to prevent and delay the onset of these devastating conditions.

• 12 February 2009 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Defining the problem
• The challenge
• Our approach

Dementia is a term used to describe a group of neurodegenerative diseases and mental disorders, the most common condition being Alzheimer's disease which accounts for between 50 per cent and 70 per cent of all cases. Other conditions include vascular dementia and mixed forms of dementia.

Dementia is one of the most disabling health conditions and while not an inevitable part of ageing, its prevalence increases dramatically after the age of 65 years.

Finding ways to prevent and treat these conditions will benefit millions of Australians and others worldwide.

Defining the problem

Australia is facing a looming Alzheimer's disease epidemic which poses significant economic and social challenges. There are currently 200 000 people with dementia in Australia, most of which is caused by Alzheimer’s disease, with 54 000 new Alzheimer’s cases in 2007 alone. The total Alzheimer’s disease population is estimated to grow to over 700 000 by 2040.

Alzheimer's disease is an insidious condition which develops slowly over 10-30 years, gradually robbing people of basic cognitive functions, their memories and eventually their lives. Most people with Alzheimer’s disease require residential care.

This care, along with a loss of productivity in both the person with Alzheimer’s disease and their family carers has been estimated to cost A$5.6 billion in 2002 alone, including A$3.2 billion in direct health costs. 

Delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by just five years has been calculated to reduce new cases by 50 per cent with cumulative Australian health cost savings in excess of A$13 billion by 2020 (Access Economics 2004).  

The challenge

Alzheimer’s disease develops when a toxic protein, known as beta amyloid, builds up in the brain in the form of plaques. Those plaques are believed to be toxic to neurons and disrupt messages within the brain by damaging connections between brain cells. The brain cells eventually die, which means information cannot be recalled or assimilated.

As yet there is no treatment that can reverse the symptoms of the disease and currently Alzheimer’s disease cannot be diagnosed until clear symptoms of dementia are present. At which time, there has already been significant death of brain cells and irreversible damage to the brain. 

Available medications can reduce symptoms and improve quality of life for some people, but these medicaments do not stop the progress of the disease or work for everyone affected by the disease. With the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease predicted to continue to rise, the impact on society is set to worsen.

One of the main challenges is to detect Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages, prior to the presentation of symptoms, to be able to deliver effective interventions.

Our approach

CSIRO's Preventative Health Flagship's research is targeted to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Knowledge about the structure of membrane proteins, such as beta amyloid present in Alzheimer's disease, is critical to understanding many neurodegenerative diseases and designing new diagnostics and therapies.

CSIRO’s expertise in understanding the structure of membrane proteins can be used more widely to investigate the proteins associated with mental disorders such as depression, bi-polar disorders and schizophrenia. Research and understanding in this area could dramatically improve the diagnosis and treatment of these debilitating diseases.

To find the solutions to detecting and treating Alzheimer’s disease, a multidisciplinary approach is required. In meeting this need, CSIRO has established the Australian Imaging, Biomarker and Lifestyle (AIBL) Flagship Study of Ageing.

This study brings together world leading experts in the area of Alzheimer’s disease whose aim is to develop one of the most comprehensive Alzheimer’s disease studies in the world. 

The objectives for the AIBL team are to make a significant impact into the Alzheimer’s disease epidemic by discovering ways to diagnose patients earlier, intervene with diet and lifestyle factors and to delay the onset of the disease.

CSIRO is also working on developing novel methods to analyse Magnetic Resonance and Positron Emission Tomography Images. A team of scientists at the Australian e-Health Research Centre is working with AIBL to quantify amyloid plaques deposition and brain atrophy using advanced software tools.

One of the first aims of the AIBL Study is to develop a blood based biomarker which will enable fast, efficient, effective and cheap diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease at an early stage when medical or lifestyle therapies may prevent the further onset of the disease.

CSIRO's research aims to:

• understand the neurotoxicity associated with amyloid protein plaque deposits observed in a number of neurological diseases
• develop new preventative strategies
• identify new biomarkers of neurodegeneration by linking current databases and analysing the resultant expanded data sets
• evaluate and develop new imaging technologies for early detection.

Read more about Prevention related health information.