Healthcare industry

Hummingbird Diagnostics GmbH - 22/09/2022

The great potential of blood-based microRNA analyses

"The early bird catches the worm", is an apt description of what motivates Hummingbird Diagnostics GmbH from Heidelberg. The medium-sized biotechnology company analyses special biomarkers in blood, so-called microRNAs, in order to diagnose diseases at an early stage and to be able to make forecasts about the course of the disease and the success of therapy.

Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases are associated with inflammatory processes in the brain. German researchers have succeeded in identifying a group of proteins in the liquor that could provide information about such inflammatory processes. As so-called biomarkers, the proteins could help to better understand disease processes in the future and to test the effect of potential drugs against brain inflammation.

In order to develop approaches for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's dementia in clinical trials, it would be helpful to be able to identify people with a particularly high risk of developing the disease. But which biomarkers can indicate an increased likelihood of disease early on in symptom-free people who actually develop Alzheimer's later?

Parkinson's disease is characterised by a slow, progressive loss of nerve cells in certain brain areas. The disease is still incurable and the exact causes are unclear. The dopamine deficiency in the brain can only be controlled to some extent in the initial phase of the disease. Basic research is being conducted in an attempt to unravel the mystery of Parkinson's disease.

Neurodegenerative diseases - 30/09/2021

Artificial intelligence enables early diagnosis of dementia

We are all afraid of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Yet, therapies are increasingly becoming available. Although they do not cure what causes a disease, they can at least slow down its progression, provided it is diagnosed as early as possible. The Tübingen-based start-up AIRAmed has developed software that uses artificial intelligence to measure and detect changes in the brain long before they…

Article - 17/03/2021

Epigenetic switches in bacteria as biosensors

The analysis of pathogen biomarkers and biomarkers for the diagnosis of diseases can be crucial for health. However, the detection of pathogens and diseases depends on a sensitive and reliable method that delivers rapid results. Biosensors have such properties. Researchers at the Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry (IBTB) at Stuttgart University have constructed an epigenetic circuit composed of plasmids that might make it…

The chain reaction which leads to toxic protein deposits in Alzheimer’s disease starts even earlier than assumed. Researchers from Tübingen show how this process could be stopped early on.

Heidelberg neurobiologists decode central mechanism of degenerative processes in the brains of mouse models and develop new principle for therapeutic agents.

Review article (new edition) - 08/07/2020

Immunology – at the forefront of medical progress

Immunology is constantly changing with the emergence of new technologies and areas of application, and has branched out in many directions. Immunological approaches are central to everything – be it the development of innovative active substances and vaccinations against cancer, the search for new therapies against neurodegenerative diseases or autoimmune diseases, or combatting well-known infectious diseases or new virus epidemics.

Multiple sclerosis - 12/03/2020

Direct application of biopharmaceuticals through the nose into the brain

There is currently no cure for multiple sclerosis, the most common neurological autoimmune disease in humans. Biopharmaceuticals that can delay the course of the disease or diminish its effects are often prevented from being fully effective by the blood-brain barrier. A European consortium led by the Fraunhofer IGB, Stuttgart is developing a new technology that can transport an innovative active ingredient directly to the central nervous system.

Three researchers at the MPI for Immunobiology and Epigenetics receive millions in funding from the European Research Council. Dominic Grün, Nicola Iovino and Ritwick Sawarkar from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg will each be awareded one of the prestigious Consolidator Grants of the European Research Council. This means that 6 million euros in funding will go to fundamental research in Freiburg over the next…

Article - 21/08/2018

Parkinson's disease: vitamin B3 has a positive effect on nerve cells

Parkinson's disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the world. There are around 4.1 million sufferers worldwide. It is characterised by motor impairments that result from the death of certain nerve cells in the brain. Researchers at the University of Tübingen have now discovered that vitamin B3 has a positive effect on damaged nerve cells and can boost their energy metabolism.

Expert interview - 08/08/2018

Ludolph: diagnosing and treating neurodegenerative disorders

Ulm has long been a world leader in diagnosing and treating rare neurological disorders, notably amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Huntington's disease (HD). We spoke with Professor Albert C. Ludolph, spokesperson for the Ulm DZNE site, medical director of the Clinic for Neurology at the RKU (University and Rehabilitation Clinics of Ulm) and world-renowned ALS researcher.

Article - 01/02/2018

Combined test systems to advance the development of drugs for treating Alzheimer’s

Which substances are suitable for treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's? Due to complex biochemical relationships, testing suitable drug candidates is difficult, especially in the early drug development phase. Many predictive test systems only cover individual aspects. A team from Baden-Württemberg and France is now combining different models to develop a new approach.

Article - 08/08/2017

N2B-patch: circumventing the blood-brain barrier

There are many medications for treating central nervous system diseases. However, only a fraction of the active pharmaceutical ingredients actually reaches the site where they are needed. The reason for this is the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain and thus prevents many drugs used to treat neurological diseases from effectively penetrating the brain. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and…

Article - 26/04/2017

Chaperones disassemble Parkinson’s disease-specific amyloid fibrils

Amyloid fibrils consisting of clumped α-synuclein protein are characteristic of Parkinson's disease. Chaperones, which ensure the correct folding of newly synthesised polypeptides, can inhibit α-synuclein aggregation and, as a consequence, prevent fibrils from forming. Researchers from Heidelberg have shown that a specific combination of human molecular chaperones is able to disassemble fibrils and transform them into non-toxic α-synuclein…

Article - 02/08/2016

Can the ticking Huntington clock be stopped?

An early phase clinical study involving thirty-six Huntington’s disease (HD) patients is currently underway to investigate whether a method called gene silencing can cure the disease. If the gene that causes the disease can be turned off, it would be the first step towards a treatment that not only fights symptoms but actually treats the causes of HD, hence providing a cure.

Article - 27/06/2016

A nasal spray for treating neurodegenerative diseases

Neuroscientists from Heidelberg have created the scientific foundations for a nasal spray that can stabilise the dendrites of nerve cells, thus reducing nerve damage and brain function losses following a stroke. Prof. Dr. Hilmar Bading and his team received the 2016 German BioRegions Innovation Prize for their invention and have set up a company called FundaMental Pharma to further accelerate the development of a marketable medicinal product.

Article - 17/05/2016

Innovative biochip for discovering drugs for treating neuronal conditions

Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and epilepsy are three prominent examples of neuronal conditions (disorders affecting the nerve cells) for which drugs for treatment are intensively sought. Paolo Cesare from the NMI in Reutlingen has developed an innovative 3D system for testing drugs that does not require animal testing. In 2015, the MEAFLUIT system was awarded first prize in BioRegio STERN Management GmbH's Science2Start idea competition.

Article - 28/01/2016

Crowdsourcing initiative to tackle Alzheimer’s

The BioMed X Innovation Center and the biopharmaceutical company AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG have used crowdsourcing to set up a team of scientists from renowned international institutions to investigate new options for treating Alzheimer’s disease. The team are looking for targets in the metabolism of tau proteins and its pathological modifications that can be used to develop drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Article - 07/12/2015

Microglial cells – the health police of Alzheimer’s

It starts with memory loss and disorientation. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and is characterised by the loss of neurons and synapses in the brain resulting from the aggregation of beta amyloid protein fragments into fibrils and plaques. Prof. Dr. Knut Biber and his team from the Division of Molecular Psychiatry at Freiburg University Medical Center have analysed these plaques in an in vivo-like cell culture system. They…

Article - 19/11/2015

Immune cells are reprogrammed in Alzheimer’s brains

Scientists from the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research at the University of Tübingen are pursuing an innovative treatment approach for Alzheimer’s disease using immune cells to eliminate the protein deposits that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Dr. Jonas Neher and his team tested whether exchanging brain-specific immune cells with fresh, more active cells has a positive effect on the disease.

Article - 29/10/2015

Personalised Parkinson’s therapy using intelligent brain stimulation

For many decades, deep brain stimulation has been used for treating neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. However, the mechanisms of the procedure, which involves implanting stimulation probes into low lying brain areas, are still not clear. Prof. Alireza Gharabaghi, Dr. Daniel Weiss and their teams of researchers at the University of Tübingen have now been able to demonstrate a direct relationship between deep brain…

Article - 29/06/2015

The transition from acute to chronic pain

Prof. Dr. Rohini Kuner and fellow scientists from Heidelberg have shown that a protein that inhibits an enzyme produced by immune cells protects nerve cells from chronic hypersensitivity to neuropathic pain. Kuner is also the spokesperson of a new collaborative research centre in Heidelberg that is receiving funding from the German Research Foundation totalling over 12 million euros. The centre is seeking to find the reasons why acute pain…

Article - 22/06/2015

Through the nose directly into the brain: Biberach researchers are working on a novel way to apply pharmaceuticals

The blood-brain barrier prevents most drugs, and large biologics in particular, from entering the brain. This physiological barrier impairs the study of central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis as well as the development of drugs. However, there is a hidden side entrance to the brain, which means that there is a way to circumvent this barrier.