Parkinson’s boost in €10bn EU funding round

Europe

Author: George TheohariPublished: 29 July 2015

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EU announces investment in new treatments for Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s will be one of the main health areas to benefit from funding under the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) latest investment round.

The EIB – the EU’s long-term lending institution – has approved €10 billion of loans for a variety of strategic projects around the world.

These include medical research into Parkinson’s and epilepsy, as well as a host of infrastructure projects and investment in corporate research in the energy, automobile, and textile sectors.

Details of the investment in Parkinson’s have yet to be announced, but previously the EIB has provided funds for the development of new treatments by the Portuguese pharmaceutical company Bial.

In 2010-13 the EIB committed €50 million in loans to Bial’s research and development activities on drugs for epilepsy, cardiovascular affections and Parkinson’s disease.

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A new study from a team at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, US, has indicated that Parkinson’s disease could affect the way people experience art. The researchers asked 43 people with the condition and 40 controls to make judgements about 10 paintings by American artist Jackson Pollock and 10 by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, rating them according to factors including liking, beauty, motion, complexity and colour-saturation. The participants with Parkinson’s showed more of a preference for ‘high-motion’ art. They also showed a lower recognition of movement compared to controls, suggesting that the brain’s motor system may help interpret movement from static visual cues. However, the research team noted that many of the participants were on their usual medication, and that the impact of dopamine agonists on the experience of art would also need to be considered.

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Parkinson’s boost in €10bn EU funding round

Europe

Author: George TheohariPublished: 29 July 2015

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Podcast roundup: conversations on the reality of Parkinson’s

Is sleepwalking linked to risk of Parkinson’s disease in men?

Stay tuned for series two of the Parkinson’s Life podcast

How Parkinson’s disease could impact the way you see art

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Parkinson’s boost in €10bn EU funding round

Europe

Author: George TheohariPublished: 29 July 2015

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Last Month

Next Month

Share this story

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Resources & Tools

WEBINAR – Tune in for the Michael J Fox Foundation 2016 round-up

Recipes & Nutrition

In the kitchen with Yves: why meal soups are good for you

Episodes

Podcast roundup: conversations on the reality of Parkinson’s

Is sleepwalking linked to risk of Parkinson’s disease in men?

Stay tuned for series two of the Parkinson’s Life podcast

How Parkinson’s disease could impact the way you see art

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