TWO Hunter research studies will focus on the warning signs of dementia in a bid to halt its development.
The Hunter New England studies will target those most at risk of developing the disease, which has proven resistant to treatment.
Researchers hope that several new drugs may help slow progression and symptoms.
Hunter Medical Research Institute experts will work with the Australian Dementia Network and pharmaceutical companies on the studies, which will test treatments before people develop symptoms.
They involve an antibody therapy that can remove the proteins that cause plaque to build up in the brain, a reaction long thought to be involved in Alzheimer's disease.
Group leader of the systems neuroscience group at HMR Professor Michael Breakspear will lead the Hunter team.
Professor Breakspear, a clinical psychiatrist and neuroscientist, says the two trials support each other.
The first, the Prospective Imaging Study of Ageing (PISA), will look for early signs of dementia through cognitive assessment, genetic analysis and brain scans seeking early indicators of plaque accumulation.
The second will test whether removing plaques at that point can delay or stop the disease developing, using a group of at-risk people who may potentially take part in a clinical trial at the Calvary Mater hospital.
"At the moment, we don't have any predictive tests; we have to wait until people develop symptoms before they can get a diagnosis," Professor Breakspear said.
"What we know from 20 years of research is that by that time there has already been a lot of underlying damage to the brain and we currently don't have any treatments that can reverse that damage.
"It would be great to be able to identify people in their late 50s, 60s and early 70s and say we think you are highly likely to develop dementia and here are some treatments we can offer to delay, prevent or even reverse what otherwise is likely to happen in 10-15 years."
Participants can register here.
