Press release - 08/10/2020 New class of highly effective inhibitors protects against neurodegeneration Heidelberg neurobiologists decode central mechanism of degenerative processes in the brains of mouse models and develop new principle for therapeutic agents.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-class-highly-effective-inhibitors-protects-against-neurodegeneration
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/immunology-forefront-medical-progress
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/Direct-application-of-biopharmaceuticals-through-the-nose-into-the-brain
Press release - 29/11/2018 Hattrick in Freiburg 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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/hattrick-in-freiburg
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/parkinsons-disease-vitamin-b3-has-a-positive-effect-on-nerve-cells
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/ludolph-diagnosing-and-treating-neurodegenerative-disorders
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/combined-test-systems-to-advance-the-development-of-drugs-for-treating-alzheimers
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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/n2b-patch-circumventing-the-blood-brain-barrier
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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/chaperones-disassemble-parkinsons-disease-specific-amyloid-fibrils
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. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/can-the-ticking-huntington-clock-be-stopped
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/a-nasal-spray-for-treating-neurodegenerative-diseases
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. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/innovative-biochip-for-discovering-drugs-for-treating-neuronal-conditions
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/crowdsourcing-initiative-to-tackle-alzheimers
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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/microglial-cells-the-health-police-of-alzheimers
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. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/immune-cells-are-reprogrammed-in-alzheimers-brains
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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/personalised-parkinsons-therapy-using-intelligent-brain-stimulation
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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-transition-from-acute-to-chronic-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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/through-the-nose-directly-into-the-brain-biberach-researchers-are-working-on-a-novel-way-to-apply-pharmaceuticals
Press release - 01/04/2015 Migrating immune cells promote nerve cell demise in the brain The slow death of dopamine-producing nerve cells in a certain region of the brain is the principal cause underlying Parkinson's disease. In mice, it is possible to simulate the symptoms of this disease using a substance that selectively kills dopamine-producing neurons. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now shown for the first time in mouse experiments that after this treatment, cells of the peripheral immune…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/migrating-immune-cells-promote-nerve-cell-demise-in-the-brain
Article - 03/11/2014 Dementia and the prion principle Prions are misfolded proteins that are associated with diseases such as BSE, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and scrapie. What makes prions particularly dangerous is their ability to induce properly folded proteins to convert into misfolded prion forms. This principle seems to be more widespread than previously thought. Dr. Mathias Jucker from the University of Tübingen and his American colleague Lary Walker from Emory University have put forward a…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/dementia-and-the-prion-principle
Article - 16/06/2014 In vitro models for Parkinson’s research The death of dopamine-producing neurons leads to Parkinson’s disease, but the cause of this selective cell degeneration is unknown. Dr. Stefan Schildknecht from the University of Konstanz is therefore developing human cell culture models to investigate the early molecular processes in the development of Parkinson’s disease. The models can also be used to develop new approaches for the treatment of Parkinson’s.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/in-vitro-models-for-parkinson-s-research
Article - 22/07/2013 Marcus Fändrich strengthens protein biochemistry at Ulm University After quite a long vacancy the directors post of the Institute for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the University of Ulm has finally been filled. Marcus Fändrich and his team moved into the laboratories and offices of the new life sciences building on the Oberer Eselsberg Ulm University campus in November 2012. Fändrich fills a gap in the Ulm Bioregions biopharmaceutical education activities as he will not only be teaching biochemistry…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/marcus-faendrich-strengthens-protein-biochemistry-at-ulm-university
Article - 24/06/2013 Cloned human beings are not to be feared An international team of scientists led by Dr. Shoukhrat Mitalipov at the Oregon Health & Science University, USA, succeeded for the first time ever in cloning human embryonic stem cells by somatic cell nuclear transfer. This breakthrough raises questions about the potentials and dangers of creating human stem cells by cloning. Prof. Dr. Marcel Leist from the University of Konstanz, who uses human embryonic stem cells for his research, gives…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cloned-human-beings-are-not-to-be-feared
Article - 25/03/2013 Ralf Baumeister – tinkering, constructing and switching off genes The focus of Ralf Baumeisters research a small nematode that is known as Caenorhabditis elegans is a rather simple organism. Nevertheless the worm can be used to study complicated behaviour including associated learning. This is how Prof. Dr. Ralf Baumeister from the Institute of Biology III at the University of Freiburg describes the animal that he works with on a daily basis. The worm has now got very little left to hide. And the genetic…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/ralf-baumeister-tinkering-constructing-and-switching-off-genes
Article - 18/03/2013 Protein depositions in the brain promote the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Being aware of ones own physical degradation as intellect and cognition remain completely intact this is what the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS also known as Lou Gehrigs disease means to sufferers. The disease is currently not curable as far too little is known as yet about its causes. However basic research is making progress and providing increasing insights into the causes of ALS. Dr. Günter Fritz and his colleagues from the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/protein-depositions-in-the-brain-promote-the-development-of-amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-als