Brain neurons firing3/9/2024 ![]() The research team began by studying the synapses of fruit flies using novel genome editing methods. It is also often these same synapses that are the first to be affected by the onset of neurodegenerative disease. They connect neurons in the brain with neurons in the body and therefore play a crucial role in thought processes, memory formation and movement. Synapses are small junctions in the brain that allow electric signals to pass from one neuron to another. Dr Verstreken, who is the project’s principal investigator. “To meet this challenge, we wanted to zoom in on what is happening at the earliest stages of these diseases,” stated Prof. Dr Patrik Verstreken of the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Belgium, in a news item posted on the ‘Innovation Origins’ platform. ![]() “The RobustSynapses project addressed one of the largest unmet medical needs – the fact that there are no cures for any of these major neurodegenerative conditions,” explained Prof. In order to find out exactly what happens in the brains of people suffering from these incurable and debilitating conditions, researchers working on the EU-funded RobustSynapses project decided to focus on the brain’s synapses. The most common of these diseases are Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, with Alzheimer’s and its related dementias affecting more than 7 million people in Europe alone. ![]() Neurodegenerative diseases – an umbrella term for a range of conditions affecting the neurons in the human brain – impact millions of people worldwide. ![]()
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