EU-funded Parkinson’s research project launched at University of Luxembourg

The EU is funding a €5.9 million research project at the University of Luxembourg that aims to develop new techniques to identify active compounds for use in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers will concentrate on patterns of Parkinson’s disease in which the mitochondria – the part of the cell that takes in nutrients – are damaged by mutations in individual genes.

The project, Systems Medicine of Mitochondrial Parkinson’s Disease (SysMedPD), brings together partner institutions and pharmaceutical companies from across Europe such as Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK.

Dr Ronan Fleming, LCSB scientist and SysMedPD coordinator, said: “We estimate that in about 10-20% of all Parkinson’s patients, their mitochondria do not function properly. In order to better diagnose, heal or at least effectively curb the progression of Parkinson’s disease, we must understand this dysfunction of mitochondria in detail.”