New grant could help develop treatments for Alzheimer’s disease
Dr Diego Gomez-Nicola from the University of Southampton has been awarded a three-year MRC New Investigator Grant (NIRG) worth £496,917 to develop therapeutic approaches to control the harmful inflammatory reaction in the brain during neurodegenerative diseases, such as such as Alzheimer’s disease.
It is well known that systemic inflammation or infection communicates with the brain and leads to the symptoms associated with illness. In people with degenerative diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer's there is a growing body of evidence to show that systemic infections or inflammation may accelerate disease progression and exacerbate symptoms.
The planned outcomes of the proposed project include the understanding of fundamental mechanisms that regulate immune-to-brain communication and the progression of chronic neurodegeneration, leading to the potential for development of protective or therapeutic approaches against these diseases.
Dr Gomez-Nicola, from the University's Centre for Biological Sciences, says: "The research objectives proposed here are a novel and ambitious approach to understanding inflammation in neurodegenerative diseases, and would generate important information for the neuroimmunological and medical sciences community.
"The potential outcomes of the proposed research would be rapidly translated into the clinics of neuropathology, and would improve the quality of life of patients with this disease."