Research Projects

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia among the elderly, whose care in Europe demands an amount of financial resources which is rising dramatically making AD a financial problem. Delaying AD onset by 5 years would decrease its prevalence by 50% with an enormous impact on the financial resources involved in AD care. Hence, it is...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common age-related neurodegerative disorder, and one of the most devastating diagnoses that patients and their families can receive. Currently ~10 % of over 65 year old have AD, and the direct and indirect cost of its care is estimated to be >100 billion $ in the US alone and in the UK ~ €22M, and therefore...

Protein misfolding diseases (PMDs) are a large group of human disorders caused by the misfolding of specific proteins. They include conditions with high socio-economic impact, such as Alzheimer’s disease, cystic fibrosis, obesity and type 2 diabetes, and the majority of them remain incurable. Among the >70 PMDs, about 1/3 are caused by misfolding...

Neurodegenerative diseases include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, corticobasal degeneration, multiple system atrophy and progressive supranuclear palsy. We currently classify and treat these conditions based on symptoms and clinical findings. Although this approach seems logical, it...

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...

Postoperative delirium (POD) is characterized by the progressive deterioration of sensory/cognitive function after surgery with incidences of up to 30-80%. It is frequently followed by postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) which tends to persist over time. In elderly patients, POCD resembles chronic dementia and appears to accelerate the...

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...

During the past decades, exceptional progress was made with in vivo medical imaging technologies to capture the anatomical, structural and physiological properties of tissues and organs in a patient, with an ever increasing spatial and temporal resolution. The physician is now faced with a formidable overflow of information, especially when a...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects more than 7 million people in Europe and this figure is expected to double every 20 years. Despite intensive efforts, no disease-modifying treatments or preventive strategies are available. The lack of specific, sensitive and minimally invasive diagnostics to identify people with early-stage AD to be included in...

ADAM10 (A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease 10), the main α-secretase of the non-amyloidogenic cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), is a common player in Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and Alzheimer´s disease (AD). ADAM10 levels are altered in platelets, plasma, serum, and CSF of elderly with AD, suggesting its potential role as an AD biomarker...

Dementia is a group of disorders characterized by severe memory loss ultimately impairing daily life activities. Major forms are Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Each dementia type is caused by different biological factors and therefore requires a specific treatment targeting these factors. To develop effective...

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...