New study by UK Biobank could find remedies for dementia, heart disease and cancer

The world's largest examination of brains and organs could bring revolutionary results
Scientists are trying to find remedies for dementia, heart disease, and cancer in the world's largest study to date, which is based on scans of the brain and organs. In the past, doctors only had the opportunity to analyze a few hundred scans. Here, the new study should produce much better results.

Researchers from UK Biobank are trying to scan the brains and organs of 100,000 subjects. Through this research, the physicians hope to make new breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer, dementia and heart disease. The study has great potential and could lead to the development of new therapies and medicines, said the scientists of the UK biobank in a press release.

A new UK Biobank study scans the organs and brain of 100,000 volunteers. The physicians hope that the results can help to develop new treatments and medicines in the future. (Image: Kot63 / fotolia.com)

Researchers want to create the world's largest database of organ and brain scans
So far, previous studies had only studied hundreds of people. The creation of the largest database of scans worldwide with the help of MRI and other methods, enormously increases the scope and quality of research, the researchers say. The database of brain and organ scans should help to better understand a number of diseases. Scans tend to be very expensive and access to critical data remains limited as each small study uses its own data and researchers rarely have access to data from other studies, said Paul Matthews, chair of the UK imaging experts group Biobank and professor at Imperial College London. Having a common large database could expand the scope and quality of biomedical research and would also massively reduce the costs needed to make new discoveries. Thus, there is the possibility that in the future new breakthroughs in research will happen faster, says Prof. Matthews.

Study could help to detect the earliest signs of disease
The scans could help doctors better understand risk factors in the future. Thus, emerging diseases could be prevented. We also try to pinpoint the earliest disease-related changes, such as the discovery that Alzheimer's disease markers have been detected years before the disease breaks out properly, the researchers explain. Thus, medics can think about the treatment before the disease even breaks out. Maybe it will also be possible to develop completely new treatment methods based on the scans. The study has the potential to uncover information about risk factors for disease, to recognize the earliest signs of disease, and to develop new types of treatments, say the experts

Scans help to develop new perspectives and treatment options for diseases
Experts will scan brain, heart, bones, arteries and abdominal fat for 100,000 people. Participants already provide a wealth of detailed information about themselves, including their lifestyle, weight, height, diet, physical activity, and their cognitive functions, scientists say. The additional data could be used to develop new perspectives and treatment options for diseases. It is hoped that our project will provide insights into cardiovascular disease. It is designed to collect detailed data about the brain, provide insights into how to prevent bone fractures and help to better understand fat distribution, the experts explain. The study has already shown that the so-called body mass index (BMI) is flawed and urgently needs to be replaced or revised, says Prof. Matthews. We want to discover new early signs and risk factors of disease, hoping that earlier targeted treatment or lifestyle changes can help prevent serious illnesses before they occur properly, the researchers explain. (As)