Projektbeschreibung
Fortschrittlicher Behandlungsansatz für Hirnerkrankungen
Rund 83 Millionen Europäerinnen und Europäer leiden an Hirnerkrankungen; die damit verbundenen Kosten sind dementsprechend enorm. Dazu zählen neurodegenerative Krankheiten wie Alzheimer, Parkinson, aber auch andere Erkrankungen wie Epilepsie, Depressionen, Schlaganfall und Migräne. Diese gesundheitlichen Herausforderungen erfordern einen neuen Ansatz und eine neue Technologie. Genau dort setzt das EU-finanzierte Projekt NEUROPA an. Es wird eine neue phytoptogenetische Technologie entwickeln: Phytochrome werden die Modulation der Expression konkreter Gene ermöglichen, die in spezifischen kortiko-subkortikalen Loops selektiv und nichtinvasiv an bestimmte kortikale Neuronen geliefert werden. Durch die Entwicklung kompakter Laserquellen und eines Überwachungssystems für die Streuwellenspektroskopie wird eine nichtinvasive bidirektionale Steuerung der Phytochrome durch Zwei-Photonen-Anregung möglich.
Ziel
Europe faces an enormous human toll of brain disorders, with an estimated 83 million people affected, and economic costs amounting to approximately €800 billion. Drug treatments for brain disorders prove often less than effective with a lack of selective cell targeting. A failure to develop new drugs has led major Pharmaceutical companies to withdraw from CNS drug development in recent years. Methods such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or Deep Brain Stimulation have displayed some therapeutic efficacy, however they are non-selective and/or invasive. It is therefore clear that with a failure of conventional therapy, a new approach is necessary, and development of new technology.
NEUROPA will directly tackle this issue. An ideal treatment would be one where activity in specific implicated neuronal networks could be selectively modulated. To be relevant to human disorders the therapy should enable the long-term modulation of dysfunctional networks. For potential widespread use in patients the intervention and monitoring of effects on network activity should also be non-invasive. NEUROPA will develop a new Phytoptogenetics technology: novel Phytochromes that will enable modulation of expression of specific genes, selectively and non-invasively delivered and targeted to cortical neurons in specific cortico-subcortical loops. Novel compact laser sources and a Diffusing Wave Spectroscopy monitoring system will be developed to enable non-invasive bidirectional control of the phytochromes by two-photon excitation.
NEUROPA will achieve in-lab technology validation of long-term network activity modulation and behavioural symptom alleviation in Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease mouse models. To achieve this, we have assembled a consortium of phytochrome engineering, gene delivery, laser photonics and detection experts, cellular, in vivo and behavioural neuroscientists, together with drug discovery expertise. We envisage progress to human use within 15 years.
Wissenschaftliches Gebiet
Schlüsselbegriffe
Programm/Programme
Aufforderung zur Vorschlagseinreichung
Andere Projekte für diesen Aufruf anzeigenUnterauftrag
H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2019-2020-01
Finanzierungsplan
RIA - Research and Innovation actionKoordinator
B4 7ET Birmingham
Vereinigtes Königreich