Aberrant insulin signalling has a substantial impact on health and socioeconomic factors through its role in diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. Altered insulin signalling also appears to be implicated in Alzheimer’s disease and – based on our pilot work - in mental illnesses characterised by compulsivity, especially obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism.
The PRIME (Prevention and Remediation of Insulin Multimorbidity in Europe) brings together a multidisciplinary team to (1) extend our understanding of insulin multimorbidity across the lifespan, (2) understand the causal mechanisms linking somatic and mental insulin-related illnesses, (3) develop tools for early diagnosis, improved clinical care, and prevention of insulin-related lifespan multimorbidity.
PRIME aims to bring this new knowledge to society, based on e.g. repurposing medication and lifestyle interventions (diet/exercise monitored by mHealth assessment), identifying and validating novel drug targets, developing and testing candidate biomarkers, and by improving existing medical guidelines and policy. Furthermore, educational approaches to inform clinicians, patients, and the general public will be developed.
The PRIME project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 847879.
