Research Projects

NEUREKA will bring a paradigm shift in drug discovery for neurological diseases, a sector that suffers multiple, repeated failures exacerbating the economical and societal burden of these incurable diseases. It will do so by addressing a crucial shortcoming: the lack of in vitro systems faithfully reproducing brain pathology that enable the...

IMI’s Call 8 is geared to develop knowledge frameworks for ‘druggable mechanisms’ for two domains of pathophysiology. In response to this call, we propose (I) the development of a generic AETIONOMY pipeline to capture and infer over mechanistic knowledge of pathophysiology, and  (II) the focused application of this pipeline to derive clinically...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in the Western world and to date no cure nor any preventive strategy are available for this neurodegenerative disorder. Bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing from fecal samples revealed a remarkable shift in the gut microbiota of conventionally-raised AD mice compared to healthy, wild-type mice...

Beta-amyloid (β-amyloid) deposition is considered to be a necessary - but not sufficient - step on the path towards Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Depiction of brain β-amyloid in vivo can support an early diagnosis, and even provide an opportunity for consider secondary prevention of AD. Currently, however, the value of β-amyloid PET remains elusive...

In addition to impairments in episodic and spatial memory, a lack of awareness for one’s memory deficits (also referred to as anosognosia) may be considered a crucial cognitive marker of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). However, although a growing body of interesting models have been proposed to explain this early symptom, what is still missing is a...

DEMTEST has established a large European and global collaboration between national surveillance units and dementia research centres, facilitating cooperation between neurologists, neuropathologists and neuroscientists. We work on standardisation of tests that are currently available and harmonise their use between centers worldwide. We define...

Neurodegenerative disorders, represented mostly by Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), are characterised by progressive neuronal impairment and death. In spite of the brain's known capacity for regeneration, lost neurons generally cannot be replaced. Therefore, drugs aimed at inhibiting neurodegenerative processes are likely to...

The brain barriers function to protect the central nervous system (CNS) from neurotoxic compounds. By the same traits they unfortunately block delivery of drugs to the CNS thus hindering proper diagnosis and effective treatment of neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis. The unusual complexity of the brain...

The calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) is a class C Gprotein-coupled receptor that plays a pivotal role in systemic calcium metabolism by regulating parathyroid hormone secretion and urinary Ca excretion. Abnormal CaSR function is implicated in calciotropic disorders, and in non-calciotropic disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), cardiovascular...

The objective of CARELINK is to deliver a tracking solution that addresses the issue of wandering in People with Dementia (PwD), allowing carers to monitor PwD. Using current machine-learning technologies we will profile user routes that can then be used to build a repository of route patterns to be compared against live routes, thus allowing for...

Frailty leads to reduced competence in activities of daily living, independence, as well as secondary health problems and threats, e.g. falls, depression, anxiety and isolation. Frailty in persons with dementia interacts within a “vicious circle”, promoting physical decline. CO-TRAIN will develop a coaching system for functional exercise training...

Common mechanisms and pathways in Stroke and Alzheimer's disease. It has long been recognized that stroke and (Alzheimer’s Disease) AD often co-occur and have an overlapping pathogenesis. As such, these two diseases are not considered fellow travelers, but rather partners in crime. This multidisciplinary consortium includes epidemiologists...