Michael Hornberger, scientist studying Alzheimer's through video games: "In 10 years there will be a therapy to stop it"

He is professor of applied research in dementia and vice-chair of innovation at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia (UK).

Michael Hornberger, scientist studying Alzheimer's disease using video games: "In 10 years there will be treatments to stop it"

He is Professor of Applied Research in Dementia and Deputy Dean for Innovation at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia (Great Britain).

Michael Hornberger was born in Frankfurt (Germany) in 1976 and is currently Professor of Applied Dementia Research and Vice-Dean for Innovation at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia (UK).His work is focused on the most cutting-edge research on methods to improve the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of the symptoms of this dementia.And despite being close to 50 years old, he is one of the youngest European experts in his field.

One of Hornberger's most original studies was related to video games.The scientist is one of the promoters of Sea Hero Quest, a mobile game designed to study how humans lead in space, an ability that is usually severely damaged in the early stages of Alzheimer's.As users navigate virtual scenarios and complete missions, the game records data about direction.

The scientist believes that although Alzheimer's is a complex disease, understanding it should not be difficult.With this idea he has recently published Enredados (Crítica, 2026), a book that seeks a clear, kind and solid guide to help the reader understand what happens in the brain of a person with the disease.

As he does on his pages, the expert seems to be very informative for El Confidencial, with clear and concise messages.The goal is the same: to help people living with Alzheimer's, worried about the disease developing, or just want to know what they can do to care for their brain.Hornberger explains which factors increase the risk or which habits help protect the brain.In addition, it explains new developments in diagnosis and treatment, ranging from blood tests to blood tests, so that everyone can find their way in a field that changes every day.

Ask: Are we really facing a global health crisis due to Alzheimer's disease?

answerYes, the prevalence of Alzheimer's will increase in the coming decades.We are already seeing very high numbers in Europe, North America and Japan.What will happen, however, is that particularly in the so-called "global south," in South America, Africa, or Southeast Asia, the population will now begin to age.For this reason, most predictions for increased cases are concentrated in these countries.

In fact, important plans are already emerging.For example, the African Dementia Alliance has recently been formed.Although Africa still has a very small population, when this age begins the number of cases will be higher than in Europe and North America.

Q. Even though initiatives are starting to form in these countries and Europe that we have been struggling with for years, are we really ready for the coming decades?

A: No, but I think the government is aware of this problem. What we did for heart disease in the 60s and 70s and cancer in the 80s and 90s, we now have to do for dementia.It is a very common disease and requires a lot of investment.

Dementia research currently receives one-third of the funding that cancer research receives in every country.A major change is needed in this regard.

Q. And how to facilitate this change?

A. In many regions.On the other hand, the government must recognize the problem and prepare health and social welfare programs.

On the other hand, philanthropy varies greatly.For example, a few years ago Bill Gates's Gates Foundation did little to fund dementia research, but now it does so to a very large extent.

And there is also individual responsibility: people need to know what the risk of dementia is and what they can do to reduce it.

Q: You have been researching this disease for years.What surprised you the most when you started studying it and what is still not well understood by the public?

A. When I started It was a very different panorama, we didn't know anything about it. We can't even measure what's going on in the brains of living people, we have to wait until they die to know what's wrong with them. Thanks to post-mortem studies, that has changed radically in recent years.

At first we measured it with very expensive brain scans like PET or MRI, or with cerebrospinal fluid analysis.Now let's move on to blood tests.This is a huge change: now we can not only determine what type of dementia a person has, but we can even detect people before symptoms appear.

Q. Amyloid and tau have been talked about a lot for years.Are we getting closer to understanding its true role today or is there still a larger unknown?

A. We now know the biology of the accumulation of these proteins in Alzheimer's.But what we don't really understand is why both diseases need to appear and how they interact with each other.

Another big question is why they accumulate in very specific areas of the brain, usually those associated with memory or orientation.

Whoever answers these questions can win the Nobel Prize.

Q. Current treatments focus mainly on amyloid, but they don't produce results to write home about.Are we looking in the right direction?

A) Treatment of amyloid is improving significantly.The newest can remove up to 80 percent of amyloid from the brain, with fewer side effects.

This will slow down the disease, but probably won't stop it completely because we still don't have a cure for tau.

Many clinical trials are ongoing for tau.Most researchers believe that in the future we will need combination drugs against amyloid and tau to stop or cure the disease.

Q Do you think you will see effective treatment in your lifetime?

A.Yes. If you had asked me five years ago, I would have been very pessimistic.Today I am quite optimistic.

I believe that in the next 5 to 10 years we will see major advances and treatments that will significantly slow the disease, perhaps even stop it.

This will also create new challenges, as Alzheimer's disease may become a chronic disease, meaning that these patients may be identified much earlier.

Q. What is the biggest scientific hurdle in finding a cure?

A. There are several.One is that amyloid and tau are proteins that also have normal functions in cells.The challenge is to attack only those forms that cause disease without affecting normal functioning.This explains why the first treatments had so many side effects.

Another big challenge is identifying people as early as possible.Today we are pretty good at detecting the disease when symptoms appear, but determining who will develop Alzheimer's disease in the future is more complicated.

Q.You predict great progress in the next decade, but what do you think about Alzheimer's treatment in 20 years?

A. Hopefully it can be treated before symptoms appear and in time.I want it to be something like what happens today with cholesterol or high blood pressure: you do a test;you take medicineYou can live a healthy life by changing some habits.That will be the goal.

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As blood tests that detect risk are still under development, there is also an ethical dilemma. If you identify someone at high risk but have no clear treatment, what do you do with this information?

With the new drugs coming we will probably be much closer to solving this problem.

Q. In your book you talk about risk factors and lifestyle.To what extent can we influence the risk of suffering from Alzheimer's?

A. The impact that lifestyle can have is greatly underestimated.Scientific evidence shows that the risk of dementia can be reduced by up to 50% by changing lifestyle.You don't need to change everything.If one person improves two or three key factors the impact can be huge.

In the future, we will see a combination of medication and lifestyle changes.

Q: What changes would you recommend to reduce risk?

A. The main thing is to control cardiac factors.

In England we say that "what's good for the heart is good for the brain."The brain needs a good cardiovascular system.

That means: exercising, eating healthy, not smoking and not drinking too much alcohol.

Another very important factor is sleep.During sleep, the brain eliminates proteins such as amyloid and tau.Poor or interrupted sleep increases the risk.

Q. What is the biggest myth about Alzheimer's that you want to dispel?

A. The biggest myth is that it is part of normal aging, but that is not true, it is a disease.In Europe this idea is disappearing, but in other parts of the world there are still people who believe that it is a normal part of aging or that it even has supernatural causes.

Q. In your book you explain that this disease is associated with specific changes in the brain. If you had to summarize for those without a scientific background, what exactly happens to the brain when Alzheimer's disease develops?

A. I would say that there are two proteins that begin to accumulate in the brain.When they accumulate too much, they become toxic to neurons and they die.

Names other than Alzheimer's disease

Q: Apart from Alois Alzheimer, there are other names that have had a profound effect on the discovery of the disease, such as Oscar Fisher, a scientist almost forgotten. Is history, science, justice for him?

A. No, the history of science does not do Oskar Fischer justice.He made very important contributions to the study of this disease, almost at the same time as Alois Alzheimer, but his work remained in the background and he did not receive the recognition he deserved.

In part, Alzheimer's demanded that the disease be named after him because he was championed by the influential psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin.For this reason, there are those in the scientific community who believe that it should be called Alzheimer's disease to acknowledge Fisher's role.

Ironically, Alzheimer himself was not particularly known for this discovery during his lifetime: his obituaries did not even mention this case, but other work he had done.

Q. Another common name is August Dieter, the first patient described by Alois Alzheimer.Why is that case still so relevant more than a century later?

A. Because your case was also very unusual.Unlike most Alzheimer's patients who were older at the time, Dieter was relatively young when he started feeling symptoms, which particularly caught the attention of doctors and led them to study his case in such detail.

Over time, scientists have been able to re-examine Auguste Dieter's brain, which is still preserved.In 2010, a new study was conducted in Germany and found that he had a rare genetic mutation that explained why he started the disease at such a young age.That's why his speech is so important today: it was not only the first diagnosis of the disease, but also helped to understand that there is a rare form of Alzheimer's disease, which can appear earlier than before.

Michael Hornberger was born in Frankfurt in 1976 and is currently Professor of Applied Dementia Research and Deputy Director of Innovation at the Norwegian Academy of Medicine.His line of work focuses on pioneering research into ways to improve the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of dementia symptoms.Moreover, despite being almost 50, he is one of the youngest experts in his field in Europe.

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