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Cambridge scientists are among the new Fellows announced today by the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Scientists at the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge have shown in animal studies that gene therapy may help repair some of the damage caused in chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as glaucoma and dementia. Their approach demonstrates the potential effectiveness of gene therapy in polygenic conditions – that is, complex conditions with no single genetic cause.

Scientists have identified new genetic clues in people who have had small and often apparently ‘silent’ strokes that are difficult to treat and a major cause of vascular dementia, according to research led by the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge and published in ̽»¨Ö±²¥Lancet Neurology.

A commonly-used treatment for chronic subdural haematoma – the build-up of ‘old’ blood in the space between the brain and the skull, usually as a result of minor head injury – could lead to a worse outcome than receiving no medication, suggests new research from the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge.

Apathy – a lack of interest or motivation – could predict the onset of some forms of dementia many years before symptoms start, offering a ‘window of opportunity’ to treat the disease at an early stage, according to new research from a team of scientists led by Professor James Rowe at the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge.

Injecting a gene therapy vector into one eye of someone suffering from LHON, the most common cause of mitochondrial blindness, significantly improves vision in both eyes, scientists have found.

Scientists have used gene therapy to regenerate damaged nerve fibres in the eye, in a discovery that could aid the development of new treatments for glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide.

Fourteen out of every 1,000 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital experience a stroke, a rate that is even higher in older patients and those with severe infection and pre-existing vascular conditions, according to a report published this week.

Apathy offers an important early warning sign of dementia in individuals with cerebrovascular disease, but depression does not, research led by the ̽»¨Ö±²¥Â suggests.

Inflammation in the brain may be more widely implicated in dementias than was previously thought, suggests new research from the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge. ̽»¨Ö±²¥researchers say it offers hope for potential new treatments for several types of dementia.