{"id":30560,"date":"2021-01-04T14:19:39","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T14:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neurodegenerationresearch.eu\/?p=30560"},"modified":"2021-01-06T07:25:54","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T07:25:54","slug":"jpnd-launches-a-new-call-on-linking-pre-diagnosis-disturbances-of-physiological-systems-to-neurodegenerative-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neurodegenerationresearch.eu\/cs\/2021\/01\/jpnd-launches-a-new-call-on-linking-pre-diagnosis-disturbances-of-physiological-systems-to-neurodegenerative-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"JPND LAUNCHES A NEW CALL ON LINKING PRE-DIAGNOSIS DISTURBANCES OF PHYSIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS TO NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A CALL FOR LINKING PRE-DIAGNOSIS DISTURBANCES OF PHYSIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS TO NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES<\/strong><\/p>\n

The EU Joint Programme \u2013 Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) initiative has announced an \u20ac19 million transnational call for multinational research on linking pre-diagnosis disturbances of physiological systems to neurodegenerative diseases.<\/i><\/p>\n

Neurodegenerative diseases are debilitating and largely untreatable conditions that are strongly linked with age. Worldwide, there are estimated to be 47 million people suffering from Alzheimer\u2019s disease and related disorders, the most common class of neurodegenerative diseases. This figure is expected to double every 20 years as the population ages. The total direct and informal care costs of Alzheimer\u2019s, Parkinson\u2019s and related disorders are in the range of \u20ac105-160 billion per year across the European Union and about US$ one trillion worldwide. Existing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases are limited in effect and mainly address the symptoms rather than the cause or the progressive course. In this context, the\u00a0EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND)\u00a0was established to better coordinate research efforts across countries and disciplines to more rapidly find causes, develop cures and identify better ways to care for people with neurodegenerative diseases.<\/p>\n

The development of efficient treatments for most neurodegenerative diseases is hindered by the fact that their detection intervenes at late stages by which time the integrity of the nervous tissue has been compromised.<\/b> Poorly characterised early physiological disturbances known to appear before unambiguous symptoms of each neurodegenerative disease are detected. These changes may include, among others, the disruption of sleep, olfaction, hearing, vision, metabolic factors as well as social engagement. All these signs have the potential to be used as early indicators of later diseases, and in most cases have the advantage that they are measurable in natural daily life environments. Since some of these changes are very likely early indicators of nervous system dysfunction, the identification of the circuits and molecular pathways being affected might reveal promising targets for early interventions and therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.<\/p>\n

In this context, JPND announced today a new joint transnational call inviting\u00a0multi-national research teams to submit proposals for ambitious<\/strong>, innovative<\/strong> and multi-disciplinary<\/strong> collaborative projects\u00a0<\/strong>that aim at\u00a0the detection, measurement and understanding of early disease indicators related to neurodegenerative diseases, with potential for the development of new diagnostics or interventions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the major limitations of neurodegenerative diseases is their sneaky sub-clinical course that can last for years before the first symptoms appear. Very often, clinicians have noticed a posteriori that these symptoms had been preceded many years before by disturbances of major physiological functions. Thus bringing together research forces in Europe and beyond through JPND will allow us to better understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of the appearance of neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, this will help to identify early indicators of their occurrence before the neuronal potential is too altered, facilitating the implementation of treatments.<\/i>\u201d says\u00a0Professor Philippe Amouyel, Chair of the JPND Management Board.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Proposals submitted under this call must focus on one or several of the following neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer\u2019s disease and other dementias, Parkinson\u2019s disease and PD-related disorders, prion diseases, motor-neuron diseases, Huntington\u2019s disease, spinocerebellar ataxia and spinal muscular atrophy.\u00a0JPND is committed to\u00a0Patient and Public Involvement<\/a>, and proposals are expected to engage patients, carers and the public.<\/p>\n

In addition, proposals must focus on one or several of the following research areas:<\/p>\n