Research Projects

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons or Multiple Sclerosis are severe health burdens and major global challenges for societies and healthcare systems. Therapeutic interventions in these diseases are not satisfying, since there is no treatment strategy that can halt or reverse disease progression. Several failed attempts at...

There is currently no early detection system for neurological protein misfolding disorders (such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases) that would satisfy the demands for rapid, quantitative, flexible, and reproducible assays to study amyloidogenesis in biological samples. We will explore the potential of aggregation assays in microdroplets that...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia and loss of autonomy in the elderly, implying a progressive cognitive decline and limitation of social activities. Progressive aging of EU population will increase the magnitude of this problem in the next decades. Currently, there is not an effective method for the early diagnosis of AD...

Major depressive disorder, dementia, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse affect a substantial part of the European older population. Over 70% of Europeans reside in cities, and this percentage will increase in the next decades. Urbanization and ageing have enormous implications for public mental health. Cities pose major challenges for older...

Neurodegenerative diseases all cause damage to the circuitry of the nervous system, with loss of connections, axons and neurons. The loss can be gradual, as in Alzheimer’s disease, rapid as in stroke, or intermediate as in the delayed neuronal loss after stroke. Following damage, the nervous system is able partially to compensate through the...

Alzheimer's disease is a disease in which specific peptides, so-called beta-amyloids, accumulate in the brain, leading to the destruction of neurons and the resulting clinical functional effects, e.g. memory and orientation problems. Discussions are ongoing as to whether or not Alzheimer's disease may be transmissible between individuals and could...

Population in Europe is ageing rapidly. Consequently, there is an urgent need to find ways to help the growing population of older people to live independent lives and preserve well being into old age. To address this pressing issue, PMinMCI will conduct the first systematic and innovative investigation of prospective memory in older adults at risk...

The amyloid-beta (A) protein arises from the sequential proteolytic cleavage of A precursor protein (APP). The accumulation of A oligomers has been regarded as the causal factor of Alzheimers disease (AD). Basal metabolic production of the A peptide is typical in healthy people, and its production rate is normally lower than its rate of clearance...

This research project deals with the role of protein aggregation in several human diseases which are connected to the formation of fibrillar protein structures. Currently, no effective pharmaceutical treatment is available for these diseases, a fact which reflects our present lack of understanding of the molecular mechanism responsible for their...

Alzheimers (AD) and Parkinsons disease (PD) are prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, but their underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests that neuroinflammation, characterized by the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-1, TNF-, and INF-, plays a pivotal role in these diseases, challenging the conventional...

The current nosology of neuropsychiatric disorders allows for a pragmatic approach to treatment choice, regulation and clinical research. However, without a biological rationale for these disorders, drug development has dramatically stagnated in the past decades. In a coordinated effort encompassing academic experts, SMEs, patient and family...

The overall prevalence of brain disorders – both neurological and psychiatric – is very high in Europe. Although it is well known that the burden and costs of these disorders are high, there is evidence that the overall, personal, social and economic costs of brain disorders have been underestimated because of the lack of valid and reliable...