Project description
Advancing monitoring and treatment of neurodegeneration
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease affect millions of people worldwide. They are incurable and progressively lead to the loss of structure or function of neurons. The precise monitoring and regulation of neuronal function, in both the peripheral and central nervous system, represent major challenges but offer hope for the prompt diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. The EU-funded e-NeuroPharma project supports the implementation of organic electronic materials and devices as a key enabling technology for translating electronic signals into the endogenous signalling entities of the nervous system. The overall aim is to develop materials that can cross the blood–brain barrier and can record and regulate various parameters relevant to neurodegenerative diseases.
Objective
As the population ages, neurodegenerative diseases (ND) will have a devastating impact on individuals and society. Despite enormous research efforts there is still no cure for these diseases, only care! The origin of ND is hugely complex, spanning from the molecular level to systemic processes, causing malfunctioning of signalling in the central nervous system (CNS). This signalling includes the coupled processing of biochemical and electrical signals, however current approaches for symptomatic- and disease modifying treatments are all based on biochemical approaches, alone.
Organic bioelectronics has arisen as a promising technology providing signal translation, as sensors and modulators, across the biology-technology interface; especially, it has proven unique in neuronal applications. There is great opportunity with organic bioelectronics since it can complement biochemical pharmacology to enable a twinned electric-biochemical therapy for ND and neurological disorders. However, this technology is traditionally manufactured on stand-alone substrates. Even though organic bioelectronics has been manufactured on flexible and soft carriers in the past, current technology consume space and volume, that when applied to CNS, rule out close proximity and amalgamation between the bioelectronics technology and CNS components – features that are needed in order to reach high therapeutic efficacy.
e-NeuroPharma includes development of innovative organic bioelectronics, that can be in-vivo-manufactured within the brain. The overall aim is to evaluate and develop electrodes, delivery devices and sensors that enable a twinned biochemical-electric therapy approach to combat ND and other neurological disorders. e-NeuroPharma will focus on the development of materials that can cross the blood-brain-barrier, that self-organize and -polymerize along CNS components, and that record and regulate relevant electrical, electrochemical and physical parameters relevant to ND and disorders
Fields of science
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Funding Scheme
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantHost institution
581 83 Linkoping
Sweden