Descrizione del progetto
Un approccio di trattamento illuminato per i disturbi cerebrali
In Europa, il costo dei disturbi cerebrali, che affliggono 83 milioni di europei, è enorme. Tra i disturbi cerebrali vi sono la malattia di Alzheimer e il morbo di Parkinson e altri disturbi quali l’epilessia, la depressione, l’ictus e l’emicrania. Queste problematiche sanitarie richiedono un nuovo approccio e una nuova tecnologia. Il progetto NEUROPA, finanziato dall’UE, risponde a questa esigenza. Esso svilupperà una nuova tecnologia fitogenetica: i fitocromi consentiranno la modulazione dell’espressione di specifici geni che vengono forniti in modo selettivo e non invasivo ai neuroni corticali target in specifici circuiti cortico-subcorticali. Il progetto provvederà allo sviluppo di sorgenti laser compatte e di un sistema di monitoraggio con spettroscopia a onda diffusa, per consentire il controllo bidirezionale non invasivo dei fitocromi mediante l’eccitazione a due fotoni.
Obiettivo
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.
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H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2019-2020-01
Meccanismo di finanziamento
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinatore
B4 7ET Birmingham
Regno Unito