In Denmark, more than 50,000 people have Alzheimer’s disease, 12,000 Lewy body dementia and 5,000-6,000 Parkinson’s disease. Leif Østergaard from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital aims to reduce these numbers through research into the function and diseases of the brain.

This research is now being backed by funding from the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND).

The € 1.7 million have been earmarked for the development of methods which will make it possible to identify people who have a high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia or Parkinson’s disease later in life.

“We hope the project will show that imaging methods developed at the Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN) and MINDLab can be used to trace the diseases in the brain at a very early point in time. We use these imaging methods in combination with genetic markers and other methods and by doing so we hope to learn more about the diseases,” Leif Østergaard explains.

Research may help many Danes

Research into and early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease are important as many Danes are affected by these diseases.

"The number of affected people in Denmark is rising as our life expectancy goes up. We hope that the project will contribute to slowing down this development," says Leif Østergaard.

The joint EU project, JPND, is the largest global research initiative of its kind. The objective of the project is to fight brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The research programme has granted the € 1.7 million to the APGeM consortium, of which Leif Østergaard is a partner. Of the € 1.7 million, the Danish Council for Strategic Research has contributed about € 250,000.

In addition to the researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, the project counts partners from the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Norway, Karolinska Instituttet in Stockholm, Sweden, King’s College in London, England, St. Anne’s Hospital in Brno, the Czech Republic and CNS deCODE Genetics in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Read more about the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research’ on the research programme’s website.

Further information

Centre Director, Consultant, Professor Leif Østergaard
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, MINDLab
Direct tel: 7846 4091
leif@cfin.dk