Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative dementias

Introduction

Population aging and increased life expectancy in our society have caused a significant increase in cases of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in recent decades, being the most frequent cause of dementia in advanced age and, against which, there is no effective treatment to date. Currently, it is estimated that between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people suffer from the disease in Spain. This figure could quadruple in the next 50 years with devastating consequences not only for affected individuals and their families, but also for the very stability of our health system. The hallmarks of AD are: the presence in the patient’s brain of two aberrant structures, senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, as well as the loss of synapses (it is considered a synaptopathy), mainly between hippocampal and cortical neurons, and significant neurodegeneration. Some aspects of these pathologies can be reproduced in animal or cell models.

Currently, laboratories around the world are working with great interest in the identification of new causal and risk genes involved in this pathology that could contribute to clarifying its pathophysiological bases and lead to the identification of new therapeutic targets. One of the main problems in AD is that by the time it is diagnosed, the brain has already suffered too extensive and irreparable damage. This requires urgent finding of biomarkers as a way to detect the disease much earlier, even asymptomatic phases, when any therapeutic strategy would have a greater chance of success.

From this program, the 20 groups of clinical and basic researchers, committed both to the diagnosis and care of patients suffering from AD and to laboratory research, continue to pool experiences and efforts to work in a coordinated manner in the search for new genetic factors, disease biomarkers and new therapeutic strategies in AD and other degenerative dementias.

Lines of Research

This program is structured in five main lines:

1.- Genetic epidemiology

2.- Research on disease-related biomarkers

3.- Cellular and animal models of Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative dementias

4.- Molecular pathology of Alzheimer's disease

5.- Mechanisms of neurodegeneration, neuroprotection and design of new therapies

Research Groups