Funds for city Alzheimer's study

Alzheimer's is also being discussed at a public meeting in Aberdeen

Thousands of pounds of funding has been donated to help Alzheimer's research in Aberdeen.

The University of Aberdeen has received £10,000 from the Alzheimer's Research Trust for new equipment.

The announcement was made ahead of the charity holding a public meeting in the city to help people know more about Alzheimer's.

The event will take place at the Salvation Army Citadel in Castle Street on Tuesday afternoon.

Prof Tibor Harkany, who leads the research team at the University of Aberdeen, said: "My group has two main aims. We want to find out what causes brain cells to become damaged in Alzheimer's, and we are also looking for new ways to diagnose the disease.

"Both studies are looking for new targets at which future drugs could be aimed to treat Alzheimer's".

Dr Simon Ridley, of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, who will be talking at the meeting, said: "This is exciting research that will provide greater clarity in our understanding of Alzheimer's.

"It is a very complex disease, and we desperately need to fund more research like Prof Harkany's to offer new hope of developing the treatments we need.

"Nearly 3,000 people in Aberdeenshire alone have dementia, and this is a figure forecast to double within a generation. The threat this condition poses to our society is real, and we must support research that will give us answers."