RESEARCHERS in Nottingham have helped a study which could potentially cut rates of Alzheimer's disease by a fifth.

Two international British and French-led teams have identified three new genes that are closely linked to the illness.

The three genes are the first new ones to be associated with the common form of Alzheimer's in 16 years.

It is estimated that cancelling out their effects could prevent almost 100,000 cases of "common" late-onset Alzheimer's a year in the UK.

Prof Kevin Morgan from the University of Nottingham was involved in the research.

He said issues highlighted by the research include the turnover of cholesterol, and part of the immune system involved in inflammation.

The British part of the study was carried out by teams in Cardiff, London, Cambridge, Nottingham, Southampton, Manchester, Oxford, Bristol and Belfast.

It was the largest genetic investigation of Alzheimer's ever conducted and involved analysing the DNA from more than 16,000 individuals over two years.

Further research involving 60,000 people is being planned for the next year.

Professor Julie Williams, who led the British team of scientists, described the breakthrough, reported in the journal Nature Genetics, as "the biggest advance in Alzheimer's research in 15 years".

The UK research was part-funded by the Alzheimer's Research Trust charity.