Neurosciences

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Overview

The Neuroscience area is consolidating its position as one of the largest clusters of research labs working on neurological diseases across Europe. At present, the area comprises 14 groups with more than one hundred fully dedicated researchers in close contact with top clinicians in the hospital. These research groups pursue a better and multifaceted understanding of the etiopathogenic mechanisms underlying a large variety of mostly adult but also pediatric neurological disorders including stroke, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, primary headaches, epilepsy, neuromuscular disorders, and also neurosurgical and psychiatric pathologies. The area also integrates groups involved in neuroimaging, analysis and interpretation of high-throughput data, and gene therapy strategies to target inflammatory and neurodegenerative neurological conditions.

Publications

276
total
1952
impact factor
7.07
average impact factor

Group Leader: Miquel Vila Bover

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Research Areas

In Parkinson’s disease (PD) there is a preferential degeneration of neurons containing the cytoplasmic pigment neuromelanin (NM). However, the potential contribution of NM to PD pathogenesis remains unknown because, in contrast to humans, common laboratory animal such as rodents lack NM. In 2019 we developed the first genetically-engineered rodent model exhibiting age-dependent production and accumulation of human-like NM within PD-vulnerable neurons, at levels up to those reached in elderly humans. Using this unique animal model, we found that progressive intracellular build-up of NM with age ultimately compromised neuronal function when allowed to accumulate above a specific threshold, eventually triggering in an age-dependent manner all the main pathological features of PD. These results suggest that strategies to maintain or decrease intracellular NM to levels below its pathogenic threshold may provide unprecedented therapeutic opportunities to prevent, halt or delay PD pathology.

VHIR Annual Report 2019

© FIR-HUVH Fundació Institut de Recerca Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron 2019 | Developed by: ondeuev