Researchers have discovered a clue that sheds light on how some people develop a form of dementia that affects the parts of the brain which are associated with personality, behaviour and language.

The research, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, will be particularly useful for any qualified social worker who deals with dementia patients, as it could open up new avenues for the treatment of a particular type of dementia.

A link between two proteins - progranulin and sortilin - was discovered by researchers which could help with developments for the treatment of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). This form of dementia is currently untreatable, and usually occurs in younger people. It's different to other degenerative disorders like Alzheimer's.

"We now can look for a direct link between these two proteins and the development of FTLD," wrote lead author and neuroscientist Rosa Rademakers, Ph.D. "The hope is that if we do find a strong association, it might be possible to manipulate levels of one or both of these proteins therapeutically."

They found that changes in the level of the sortilin protein affects the availability of progranulin. "Given that we found FTLD patients often have less progranulin than they should, we believe that if you can manipulate levels of progranulin and/or sortilin in the brain, you might have a way to treat this disorder," Dr Rademakers added.