Even though aging is the largest risk factor for Parkinson’s disease, the majority of research aimed at taming the incurable neurodegenerative motor disease has largely left aging out of the mix.  A group of researchers from around the globe seek to change that.  “Unraveling the intersection of aging and Parkinson’s disease: a collaborative road map for advancing research models,” is now available online at the Nature publication npj Parkinson’s Disease.

By analyzing tissue from patients with Parkinson’s disease, and animal and cellular models of the disease, a research team from the Institut de Neurociències of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona has shown that the main immune cells of the brain become reactive and overexpress certain receptors that promote the elimination of dopaminergic neurons, even when these neurons are still functional. The study points to a new immunotherapy approach that could help preserve viable neurons in people with this diagnosis.

New research reveals how Parkinson’s spreads from the gut to the brain, with the help of immune cells – offering a new potential therapeutic strategy – in a study in mice led by scientists at the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL (University College London).

Dr Benedetta Bolognesi, principal investigator at IBEC, has been awarded a prestigious ERC Proof of Concept grant. These grants are awarded by the European Research Council to support the exploration of the commercial and societal potential of research projects conducted within European institutions. The winning project, AMALIA,  aims to transform the search for anti-amyloid therapies and contribute to reducing the enormous health and economic impact of these diseases.