Bristol receives share of £16.5 million to investigate neurodegenerative diseases that give rise to dementia

Can sleep affect the progression of Alzheimer’s disease? That’s what a study led by the University of Bristol will explore, thanks to a £4.3 million grant by the Medical Research Council (MRC).

The SleepBoost study is one of five new MRC-funded studies awarded £16.5 million to help identify new ways to treat or slow down neurodegenerative diseases before symptoms worsen.

Over 55 million people live with dementia, costing over US$1.3trillion worldwide. Alzheimer’s disease, the commonest cause of dementia, is slowly progressive, with changes in the brain long before noticeable clinical symptoms. Earlier treatment is best for people to keep their independence and quality of life.

SleepBoost, led by Elizabeth Coulthard, Professor of Cognitive Neurology at the University of Bristol, will focus on a phase of sleep known as slow-wave sleep, which plays a key role in removing harmful proteins from the brain.

Participant recruitment for the study will begin later this year across 11 sites in the UK.

Professor Coulthard said:

“Good sleep is not only key for general health and wellbeing. Poor sleep is linked to increased future dementia risk.

“Our long-term study will assess whether improving sleep helps prevent Alzheimer’s dementia. We will specifically improve the quality of slow-wave (deep) sleep and measure the effect on Alzheimer’s markers in the blood. We’ll recruit widely, including South Asian communities, who may be more affected by poor sleep.

“By using sleep recordings, brain activity monitoring, scans, blood and spinal fluid samples, and memory tests to measure impact, we hope our findings will lead to a better understanding of the links between sleep and Alzheimer’s. Our vision is a new class of tailored Alzheimer’s disease treatments based on a new mechanism of neurodegeneration.”

Experimental medicine approach

The studies use an approach known as experimental medicine, which involves working directly with living people to understand the biological changes that cause disease.

This could include:

• monitoring brain activity during sleep
• tracking changes in blood flow
• testing how the brain responds to new or repurposed drugs

Science Minister Lord Vallance said:

“These studies are a great example of what can happen when industry, academia, charities and patients all work together to drive medical research forward.

“Boosting our understanding of some of the neurodegenerative diseases that can lead to dementia, is critical to tackling this cruel illness. It will help us develop the treatments that will hopefully, one day, stop dementia in its tracks and spare so many families from the heartache it causes.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson added:

“This cruel illness touches the lives of so many families. It’s vital we improve our understanding of the neurodegenerative diseases which can lead to dementia.

“This government is making progress, with diagnosis rates rising, but we know there’s much more to do. That’s why we’re delivering the Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia – setting national standards to improve care quality and ensure every person with dementia gets the support they deserve. By working together with industry, scientists and charities, we can find new ways to slow down the disease and to speed up diagnosis.”

Patient involvement

A key funding requirement was for all research teams to embed patient and public involvement and engagement into their proposals.

With support from Alzheimer’s Society, people with lived experience of dementia reviewed each application to assess how well it involved patients and the public.

Researchers responded to this feedback, and a dedicated sub-panel of patient and carer reviewers discussed the proposals and shared their views with the funding panel.

This process helped ensure the funded projects reflect what matters most to people living with these conditions, and that their voices were considered throughout the research.

Translating to clinical benefits

Dr Richard Oakley, Associate Director of Research and Innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said:

“Involving people with lived experience of dementia at every stage of dementia research is vital, making sure the research is not only credible but above all relevant to the people impacted.

“I am delighted our Research Network volunteers have been able to support the process and share their invaluable insight to ensure that MRC is funding experimental medicine studies that have the potential to rapidly translate to clinical benefits.”

Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme

Each project will work with the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme to ensure that discoveries in experimental medicine contribute directly to speeding up the development of new treatments for dementia.

The programme, led by the Office for Life Sciences, sets out ambitious goals to accelerate research and improve outcomes for people affected with dementia.

Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals Co-Chair Hilary Evans-Newton said:

“Dementia research is at a truly transformative point. We’re uncovering new insights into the diseases that cause this condition at an unprecedented pace, and this research is driving progress forward.

“Through the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme, our mission is clear: to accelerate these breakthroughs from the lab to the clinic, delivering meaningful innovation to people living with dementia as quickly as possible.”

Research focus areas

All five studies are designed to generate insights that could lead to new or improved treatments.

All are grounded in the real experiences of people affected by these conditions.

Sleep and Alzheimer’s disease

Two studies, led by the University of Bristol and Imperial College London, will investigate how sleep affects the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

They will focus on a phase of sleep known as slow-wave sleep, which plays a key role in removing harmful proteins from the brain.

Blood vessel damage and dementia

Two studies, led by the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London, will focus on cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD), a condition where small blood vessels in the brain are damaged.

cSVD is a major contributor to stroke and accounts for around 40% of all dementia cases.

Targeting multiple biological changes simultaneously in Parkinson’s

The fifth study led by at University College London will test a combination approach in neurodegeneration.

Two drugs that are currently used for vascular and metabolic conditions will be tested together to simultaneously target the specific vulnerable cell type in Parkinson’s, and to modify that brain cell’s chemistry.

The study will use blood and spinal fluid samples, along with digital tools to track symptoms, to assess whether targeting the changes in brain chemistry could slow disease progress.

Industry collaboration

Each project involves collaboration with industry partners, who bring specialist tools, technologies and expertise.

These partnerships help researchers translate findings into potential treatments more quickly, supporting innovation and accelerating progress from research to patient benefit.

Professor Patrick Chinnery, MRC Executive Chair, said:

“These studies highlight the potential of experimental medicine to bridge the gap between the mechanistic understanding of disease and the development of targeted advanced treatments for patients.

By bringing together researchers and clinicians with industry, patients and carers from the start, we’re supporting research that has real-world relevance and translational potential.”