Objective
Neurodegenerative disorders, a heterogeneous group of chronic progressive diseases, are among the most puzzling and devastating diseases in medicine. Indeed they are characterized by onset in adult life, distinct clinical phenotypes, and specific degeneration of subsets of neurons and axons. Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a disorder that results in progressive weakness and spasticity of the lower limbs affecting approximately 1 in 10000 individuals. Heterogeneity characterizes HSP in both clinical and genetic aspects. Little is known about the pathogenesis of HSP and consequently no specific treatment is available to prevent, cure or delay progression of symptoms of HSP. Electrophysiological and pathological findings point to the corticospinal, dorsal columns and spinocerebellar fibers as the structures primarily affected by HSP. Two main pathogenetic hypotheses for the neurodegeneration seen in HSP, as well as other neurodegenerative conditions, have recently emerged, suggesting that impaired mitochondrial function and/or defective subcellular transportation mechanics play a crucial role. In fact, HSP-causing mutations have been found in gene products involved in mitochondrial function, such as paraplegin and HSP60, and axonal trafficking, such as kinesin and, possibly, spastin and spartin. This consortium of European groups intends to provide a multi-faceted comprehensive approach to study pathogenesis of HSP with a particular emphasis on the role of mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired axonal transport, through the production and characterization of six novel mouse models for this disease, in parallel with the recently developed paraplegin null mutant. The proposed strategy is a highly integrated effort to study the function of several HSP genes, with the final goal of identifying common mechanisms leading to axonal degeneration, which will be potential targets of a therapeutic intervention in the long term.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins protein folding
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology dementia
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine ophthalmology retinopathy
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP6-2002-LIFESCIHEALTH
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
MILANO
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.