Element and Isotope Signatures in Neurodegenerative Diseases
ACRONYM
NeuroMetalle
Title
Element and Isotope Signatures in Neurodegenerative Diseases
General information
Neurodegenerative diseases (ND, e.g. Alzheimer's dementia, AD; Parkinson's disease, PD; and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS) affect more than 1.6 million people in Germany, with costs to society of 鈧�73 billion/year. In many NDs, including AD, PD, and ALS, we now believe that multiple elements (ME), e.g., phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), and selenium (Se), influence disease development and progression. ME play important roles in cells, such as catalysis, structural stability, transport of oxygen, cellular signal transduction, and enzymatic functions in general. ME are also specifically involved in protein degradation processes, including amyloid formation. Alteration in the distribution of ME in the brain, cerebrospinal fluid, plasma, and other compartments of ND patients has already been demonstrated in smaller studies (e.g., changes in Ca, Fe, Cu, Se, As, and Zn were found in AD, Fe, Cu, and Zn in PD, and Ca, Fe, Cu, and P in ALS). Building on these results, initial therapeutic studies have already been initiated in PD and ALS focusing on correction of Cu and Fe metabolism, respectively. Despite the importance of ME in ND, its diagnostic potential is still underutilized. Further, the determination of isotopes can provide additional relevant insights. The relative proportions of elemental isotopes (i.e., the isotopic fractions) can / may change in biological fluids as a result of disease, enabling new diagnostic approaches. In this project, the combined use of these innovative methods (determination of ME in combination with their isotopic fractions in proteins, "ME isotopomics") will be established on samples of the above mentioned ND and evaluated with respect to their potential for diagnosis, disease progression and therapy monitoring.
Start
January, 2023
End
December, 2025
Funding (total)
691000
Funding (91探花)
461000
Funding body / Programme
-
BMBF
/
Coordination
Helmholtz-Zentrum f眉r Ozeanforschung Kiel (91探花), Germany
Contact
Partners
Universit盲tsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), Klinik f眉r Neurologie, Germany
