Funding dementia research

The research program for this year’s Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation (AADRF) will see $2.4 million shared between 25 of Australia’s next generation of dementia researchers.

“There was very strong demand for these awards from the research sector this year, and our rigorous assessment process means that we are supporting the very best and brightest new and early-career dementia researchers,” said the Foundation’s chair, Scientia Professor Henry Brodaty.

Donna McCade from the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney was awarded a $50,000 project grant to assess whether a hormone-containing nasal spray will alleviate some of the symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

McCade said that people with Alzheimer’s disease often show impaired social cognition, including their ability to recognise emotions in others. This in turn affects social skills and relationships, and can have an impact on carers.

“Previous research suggests that intranasal administration of oxytocin can improve recognition of facial emotions in healthy adults, but this has never been tested in people with Alzheimer’s disease,” said McCade.

“With a treatment and cure for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia still potentially years or even decades away, I am hopeful that my research will be able to help those living with the condition today and, just as importantly, alleviate the impact felt by carers when caring for a person with behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.”

Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation is the research arm of Alzheimer’s Australia. The foundation receives support from the community, which is used to fund Australian early-career dementia researchers.