EN    EN EN 
 
EN 1   EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 22.7.2009 
SEC(2009) 1039 final 
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying the 
 
Proposal for a 
 
COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION 
 
on measures to combat neurodegenerative di seases, in particular Alzheimer's, through 
joint programming of research activities  
   
{COM(2009) 379 final}
 
EN 2   EN RATIONALE 
This Commission Staff Working Document has been prepared as a background paper to the 
Commission's proposal for a Council Recommendation on Joint Programming in research on neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’ s disease. With the aim of clarifying the context 
of this proposal and to document and justify the added value of a joint European action in this field, it 
provides a first non-exhaustive picture of research on neurodegenerative diseases, in particular 
Alzheimer’s disease, which is currently carried out or planned across Europe. 
This first analysis illustrates the significant dive rsity of the research landscape on neurodegenerative 
diseases in Europe, in many of its aspects such as le vels of investments, funding mechanisms, public-
private involvement, priority themes, topics and approaches, etc, but it also highlights the potential for 
complementarity of current actions and initiatives.  
This information – even though not exhaustive – provi des a set of elements which outlines the reasons 
why a joint European approach in this area could contribute to increase the effectiveness of research 
on neurodegenerative diseases in Europe, open the path to  potential therapies to the benefit of affected 
individuals and their families, and help to estab lish the rationale for the proposed Recommendation.  
1. Introduction  
In September 2008, the Competitiveness Council r ecognised the major societal impact of 
neurodegenerative diseases (ND), and in particular Alzheimer's disease (AD), in the context of an ageing society and adopted conclusions recommendi ng the launching of a common European initiative 
in this field by bringing together Member States, the Commission and other stakeholders. 
Stock taking of existing initiatives at national an d European level in this field is necessary for 
streamlining the use of Europe's public R&D f unds through enhanced coope ration and coordination 
between national public R&D programmes.  
1.1 Definition
 
Neurodegenerative diseases are a heterogeneous set of chronic illnesses characterised by accelerated 
neuronal loss that leads to atrophy of the affect ed central or peripheral nervous system structures1. 
They are major contributors to long-term disability , with Alzheimer's disease (and related dementias), 
and Parkinson's disease (and atypical Park insonism's) being the most prevalent. 
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in the EU (about 70% of cases)2. 
Dementia is a decline in mental ability that usua lly progresses slowly, in which memory, thinking, and 
judgement are impaired, and persona lity may deteriorate. It usually  develops slowly, and affects 
mainly people aged over 60. It is one of the most important causes of disability in the elderly. Other common causes of dementia are the successive strok es which lead to multi-infarct dementia (about 
30%), Pick's disease, Binswanger's disease, and Lewy-Body dementia.  
Parkinson's disease is a slowly progressive neurologic disease caused by the degeneration of 
dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia. It is ch aracterized by tremor at rest, slowing of voluntary 
movements, a gait with short accelerating steps, a fi xed inexpressive face, peculiar posture and muscle 
weakness. 
Rarer neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophi c lateral sclerosis and other motor neuron 
diseases, Huntington's disease and other degenerati ve diseases with chorea, ataxias, prion diseases, 
iron and copper disorders, and mitochondrial diseases.  
                                                 
1 Neurodegenerative diseases: neurobiology,  pathogenesis, and therapeutics. M. Flint Beal, Anthony E. Lang, Albert 
C. Ludolph. Cambridge University Press, 2005. 
2 http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_informa tion/reporting/docs/2006_dementiayearbook_en.pdf  
 
EN 3   EN 2. EC-funded actions on neurodegen erative diseases, in particular 
Alzheimer's  
The European Commission is well aware of the impo rtance of the social and health impact associated 
with ND, in particular Alzheimer's and other deme ntias. For this reason, the social, medical and 
research aspects of ND have been tackled via parallel actions in two major Community programmes: the Framework Programmes for Research and Tec hnological Development and the Public Health 
programmes.  
2.1 Research on neurodegenerative diseases in the 5th, 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for 
Research and Technological Development  
In the 5th Framework Programme (FP5, 1998 –2002) a total of approximately  € 40 million (13 projects) 
was devoted to research on neurodegenerative disease supported under the Key Actions "The cell 
factory" and "Healthy ageing" within the "Quality  of life and management of living resources" 
Programme. 
In particular, FP5 supported the E UROPEAN ALZHEIMER 'S DISEASE CONSORTIUM  (EADC)3, a network 
of 50 European centres of excellence from 14 diffe rent countries (DE, UK, NL, IT, CH, SE, BE, ES, 
FI, FR, RO, HE, DK, PT) working in the field of  Alzheimer's Disease. EACD provides a setting in 
which to increase the basic scientific understanding of  and to develop ways to prevent, slow, or 
ameliorate the primary and secondary symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. This is done by facilitating 
large Europe-wide research studies. EADC enjoys  the privilege of complete independence and 
autonomy from the pharmaceutical industry whilst maintaining close working links with it. Two 
additional EU-funded studies, ICTUS4 and DESCRIPA5 stemmed from this project. In addition, the 
programme focussed particularly on  early diagnosis and interventions6, pathogenetic markers of the 
disease and quality of care. 
Efforts in this area were signi ficantly reinforced within the 6th Framework Programme7 (FP6, 2002–
2006), mostly under the thematic priority "Life Scie nces, genomics and biotechnology for health". Out 
of an overall budget of approximate ly €256 million devoted to the area of brain research, more than 
€136 million went into research on ND. This represente d a three-fold increase in this area when 
compared to the investment in the previous Framework Programme. 
The 28 collaborative research projects supported in th is field provide a comprehensive translational 
approach to the study of these diseases, spanning fro m the identification of responsible genes, basic 
molecular and cellular disease mechanisms to the va lidation of new surrogate markers and therapeutic 
drug targets via clinical trials for specific neurodegenerative diseases.  
Around € 22 million were invested to understa nd basic pathological m echanisms such as 
neurodegeneration, abnormal prot ein aggregation, synaptic depression, and memory loss. An 
additional € 18 million were dedicated to the ro le and mechanisms of neuroinflammation in 
neurodegeneration. 
More than € 40 million were devoted to research  on Alzheimer's disease, through 9 collaborative 
transnational projects. Several of these projects ha ve a strong translational cut and will develop new 
diagnostic and therapeutic tools. For instance, ADIT8 (€ 7.5 million) aims at designing and testing of 
small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Another project, 
                                                 
3 http://eadc.alzheimer-eur ope.org/introduction.html  
4 http://eadc.alzheimer-europe.org/ictus.html  
5 http://eadc.alzheimereurope.org/descripa.html ;  
6
 http://cordis.europa.eu/data/PROJ_ FP5/ACTIONeqDndSESSI ONeq112482005919ndDOCeq844ndTBLe
qEN_PROJ.htm  
7 http://ec.europa.eu/rese arch/fp6/index_en.cfm?p=0  
8 http://www.aditproject.org/  
 
EN 4   EN PROMEMORIA9 (€ 10 million), aims at validating cell- adhesion molecules as new treatments for 
impaired learning and memory processes, including Alzheimer's disease. 
Parkinson's disease research received € 13.5 mi llion in FP6, mostly focussing on developing 
biomarkers for early diagnosis of the disease. GENEPARK10 is determining gene expression profiles 
specific for genetic and idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) patients to be used as non-invasive 
diagnostic tests. In a complementary approach, the INDABIP11 project wants to identify biomarkers, 
in particular proteins, mRNA, miRNAs, differentia lly matured RNAs and methylated DNA, relevant 
for the early diagnostics of Parkinson’s disease. 
Good support was also provided to projects on rare ND, an area where inte grated research at the 
European level brings a clear added value, in  view of the low prevalence and broad genetic 
heterogeneity of these disorders and the difficulty of  collecting sufficient number of patients to initiate 
large therapeutic studies and characterising the gene tic factors underlying these diseases. 5 projects for 
an overall value over  € 20 million were supported in this area. A representative example is 
EUROSCA12, a € 10 million project aiming at developing a treatment for patients suffering from 
spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA), and establishing an in ternational standard on the clinical evaluation of 
these diseases. Other ND addressed included motor neuron diseases (€ 6 million), prion diseases (€ 6 million) and retinal degeneration (€ 10 million). 
FP6 allowed also tackling research fragmentation in this area, through both the Networks of 
Excellence (NoE) and ERA-NET funding schemes. The NoE NeuroNE13 intends to overcome 
fragmentation through an integrated approach to  functional genomics and proteomics as well as 
clinical studies on Alzheimer's disease, Parkin son disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and 
Huntington disease, and aims at sharing tools and facilities. BrainNet Europe II14 is a network of 19 
brain tissue banks that collect high-quality human post -mortem brain tissue and fo ster research in the 
cellular and molecular basis of neurological and psychiatric diseases. 
The ERA-NET, NEURON15, focussed in the area of ND, including Alzheimer disease, with the aim of 
sharing information, identifying needs and devi sing joint initiatives. It includes 15 funding bodies 
from 11 Member States (AT, FI, FR, DE, IT, LU, PT, RO, ES, SE, UK) and 1 Associated State (IL). In January 2008 NEURON issued its first joint call for a bid of € 18.5 million. A second joint call was 
published in January 2009. 
The European Research Area in Ageing (ERA-AGE)16 ERA-NET, which comprises 12 national 
funding agencies, aims at promoting the developmen t of a European strategy for research on ageing 
and, thereby at streamlining efforts in this field.  
Through the 7th Framework Programme17 (FP7, 2007–2013) the European Commission has further 
reinforced efforts in the area of ND, with the two -fold objective of ensuring continuity with previous 
initiatives while introducing new ones. Continuity is  emphasized in collaborative research where two 
specific activities on "Research on the brain and rela ted diseases" as well as "Human development and 
ageing" are proposed. Within the brain research act ivity, which includes the area of ND, particular 
emphasis is placed on translational research, for br inging knowledge from be nch to bedside and for 
development of new drug targets, including epidemiological and clinical trials.  
                                                 
9 http://plab.ku.dk/promemoria/  
10 http://www.genepark.org/index.php  
11 http://europabio.euproject.eu/index.php/kb_1/io_609/io.html  
12 http://www.eurosca.org/  
13 http://neurone.nuxit.net/  
14 www.brainnet-europe.org  
15 http://www.neuron-eranet.net/  
16 http://era-age.group.shef.ac.uk/  
17 http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html  
 
EN 5   EN Overall, 24 transnational collaborative projects for an  overall value of € 94 million have been devoted 
to research on ND as a result of the first two calls fo r proposals in the Health Programme. Of this, € 24 
million tackled specifically the field of Alzheimer' s disease. They address, for instance, the biological 
basis of memory loss, the development of new tools for the delivery of large molecules to the brain, 
and look for new diagnostic tools and drug targets.  
The project MEMSTICK18 (€ 3 million), for example, is  a spin-off of the FP6 project 
PROMEMORIA, and will continue in vestigating the role of synaptic  cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) 
in memory loss, and the therapeutic value of targeting these CAMs to restore memory function and associated neurobiological mechanisms at the syna ptic level. The € 3 million MEMOSAD project has 
similar aims but a different approach: it aims at defining the molecular mechanisms of amyloid beta- 
and tau protein-induced synaptot oxicity and at developing disease- modifying therapeutics for the 
prevention of memory loss in Alzheimer disease. 
Research on Parkinson's disease has been well supporte d to date in FP7, with more than € 25 million 
awarded to 7 projects. The NEuroStemCell19 consortium received € 11.6 million to foster successful 
clinical trials of stem cell therapy for Parkinson's (PD) and Huntington's (HD) disease. The goal is to 
compare different stem cell sources with respec t to their capacity to generate mesencephalic 
dopaminergic and striatal GABAergic neurons  suitable for neuronal cell replacement.  
Similarly, the MOLPARK20 project aims to define the basi c cellular and molecular mechanisms 
underlying the generation, differentiation, survival  and connectivity of ni grostriatal dopaminergic 
neurons and translate this knowledge into radically new therapeutic strategies for Parkinson's disease.  
Last, but not least, the € 4 million REPLACES21 project will use cortical striatal plasticity and its 
alterations in experimental Parkinson’s disease to explore basic mechanisms of brain plasticity and 
repair and to translate the new generated knowledge into novel restorative therapeutic approaches. In 
particular, REPLACES address the potential restora tive effects of either novel pharmacological 
treatments or neuronal transplants on the corticostriatal microcircuitry. 
FP7 provided continued support to projects on rare neurodegenerative disorders. As example, the € 12 
million OptiStem22 project is to develop and implement effic acy of clinical trials with adult tissue 
stem cells for degenerative diseases of epithelia a nd skeletal muscle. The consortium will address not 
only issues related to basic biology of stem cells, but also transplantation related issues, such as 
engraftment, angiogenesis, tissue remodelling, imm une response, and regulatory and ethical issues 
related to these novel procedures.  
Furthermore, research on public health, including me ntal health, is included as a new area for health 
research . The activity entitled “Optimising the delivery of health care to European citizens” provides 
for European public health research to contribute  to building the necessary basis both for informed 
policy decisions on health systems and for more e ffective strategies of health promotion, disease 
prevention, diagnosis and therapy. 
To date, the 2008-2009 calls for proposals have addr essed the impact of ageing resulting in projects 
that will carry out research on health systems and long term care of the elderly, organisation of dementia care, a road map for ageing research, ageing cohorts, and health outcome measures and 
                                                 
18 http://www.memstick.org/  
19 http://www.neurostemcell.org/  
20
 http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=FP 7_PROJ_EN&ACTION=D&DOC =426&CAT=PROJ&QUER
Y=011aa1a07f7c:7356:0502e0e6&RCN=90184  
21
 http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=FP 7_PROJ_EN&ACTION=D&DOC=1&CAT=PROJ&QUERY
=011f65da5e55:791f:0a24a957&RCN=88492  
22
 http://cordis.europa.eu/search/index.cfm?fu seaction=proj.documen t&PJ_LANG=EN&PJ_RCN=1058331
8&pid=55&q=C7E41A2896B930F4ACFB6B666BB7A9C1&type=adv  
 
EN 6   EN population ageing for an overa ll value of € 32 million.  As an example , Courage in Europe will 
enhance the scientific study of ageing by developi ng and validating a tool to measure health and 
health-related outcomes for an ageing population that  offers objective and evidence-based prevalence 
trends and that relates these to both quality of lif e and well-being outcomes. This will provide better 
measurement instruments and methodologies for longitudinal and cross-population comparative 
analyses essential for evidence based policy making.  
Another project, AHEAD III, has been specifically d esigned to provide evidence of the effects of 
degeneration of hearing in adults and particularly in the elderly, analyse costs associated with the 
implementation of integrated large scale progra mmes of hearing screening and intervention in the 
elderly, provide quality standards and minimum requirements for screening methods and related 
diagnostic techniques and develop guidelines and r ecommendations on how to implement successful 
screening programmes to be tuned to the local, social, and economical conditions of a country. 
FP7 also proposes three new funding schemes whic h may offer additional possibilities for Alzheimer 
disease research: the European Re search Council (ERC), the Joint Technology Initiative on Innovative 
Medicines (IMI) and the ERA-NET plus.  
The first call for proposals of IMI will support 15 projects23, including one aiming at predicting 
cognitive properties of new drug candidates for ND  in early clinical development. PHARMA-COG24 
is a € 5 million project bringing together European  experts in translational medicine, drug discovery 
and mathematical modelling. PHARMA-COG want s to accelerate the validation process by 
conducting parallel experiments in animals and hum an using a comprehensive and standardised 
battery of behavioural, neurophysiological, mor phological/functional imaging, and biochemical 
endpoints. By the end of its 5-year duration, PHARMA-COG will have a) validated the tools 
necessary to streamline Alzheimer's disease drug discovery and accelerate effective medicine to patients, b) set the standard for European drug di scovery providing optimised and validated protocols 
c) provided the infrastructure to sustain world cla ss drug discovery in Europe and d) disseminate the 
obtained results from health professionals to patients. 
2.2 Neurodegenerative diseases in the Public Health Programme
 
The Work Plan for 2005 for the implementation of the programme of Community action in the field of 
public health (2003-2008), included for the first time a specific reference to th e need of information 
and definition of indicators on the prevalence, treatments,  risk factors, risk reduction strategies, cost of 
illness and social support as well as what constitutes a “healthy brain lifestyle” related to Alzheimer's 
disease and other dementias.  
In October 2007 the Commission published the White  Paper "Together for Health: A Strategic 
Approach for the EU 2008-2013", where healthy ag eing is supported by taking action to promote 
healthy lifestyles, reduce harmful behaviours, and to  prevent and treat specific diseases, including ND. 
The development of geriatric medicine needs to be  actively promoted, with a focus on individualised 
care, palliative care and better understanding of ND such as Alzheimer's. 
The launch of the "European Pact for Ment al Health and Well-being" on 13 June 200825 was an 
opportunity to take into account the mental hea lth dimension of neurodege nerative diseases and be 
used as a framework for raising awareness activities and the exchange of good practices in addressing 
Alzheimer's challenges. 
The planned European Commission European Health Examination Survey (EHES)26 will be able to 
provide, through its cognitive test module, strong pred ictive data on the validation of new criteria for 
early diagnosis of dementia and other neurodegene rative diseases. Here synergies will be sought with 
                                                 
23 http://imi.europa.eu/docs/imi-1st-call-selected-projects-abstracts_en.pdf  
24 http://imi.europa.eu/docs/imi-1st-call-selected-projects-abstracts_en.pdf  
25 http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determin ants/life_style/mental/docs/pact_en.pdf  
26 http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_informa tion/dissemination/reporting/report_en.htm  
 
EN 7   EN the 7th Framework Programme for Research (FP7)27 in particular the Health Theme of the specific 
Programme "Cooperation".  
The direct support to Non Governmental Organisati ons (NGOs) acting in the field of health care to 
neurodegenerative disease patients and their families, the organisation and the support to activities at 
home and in residential care, as well as the primary care and the hospital care, are under the responsibility of the Member States.  
However, the Public Health Progra mme allows NGOs to apply for fu nds in several areas. Priority 
areas in dementia are those related to risk factor s, risk reduction strategies, cost of illness, social 
support developing a healthy brain lifestyle, e- Health activities and supporting the exchange of 
information and experiences on good practice. The organisations are expected to reduce the 
differences in quality standards through increased  cooperation and by exchanging knowledge and 
experience about the content and organisation of care.  
In 1997 and 1998, the European Commission approved a budgetary line for the implementation of 
measures to help persons suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease and for those assisting 
them on a non professional basis. Several projects28 were launched in areas such as: diagnosis and 
therapeutic, drug treatment to minimise common co -morbidities associated with dementia (e.g., 
depression), control distressing symptom, informatio n and support to caregivers, ongoing support and 
counselling, end of life support and counselling in relation to palliative care, intermittent assistance 
with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) or Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs), and full support to all ADLs and IADLs 
A project on rare forms of dementia was part of th e framework of the former EU Action Plan on Rare 
diseases29. The objective of the project was to build up a database of information about rare forms of 
dementia and to make this available to the general public by means of the exis ting Internet and Intranet 
portals of "Alzheimer Europe". A new classificati on system for these forms of dementia has been 
created.  
Currently, there are several ongoing actions: 
EURODEM : European Community Concerted Action on the Epidemiology and Prevention of Dementia 
group30; EURODEM pools data on the prevalence of moderate  to severe dementia in several European 
countries to produce a set of prevalence rates for men and women in nine different age groups.  
EUROCODE : to develop strategies and mechanisms for preventing, exchanging information on and 
responding to non-communicable disease threats, incl uding gender specific health threats and rare 
diseases. The project covers Alzheimer’s disease, vasc ular dementia, dementia in Parkinson’s disease, 
dementia with Lewy bodies, mild cognitive impair ment, frontotemporal deme ntia and treatment of 
alcohol related dementia at all severities. This project will produce consen sual prevalence rates, 
guidelines on diagnosis and treatment, guidelines on  non-pharmacological interventions, risk factors 
and risk reduction and prevention strategies, an esti mation of the socio-economic costs of Alzheimer’s 
disease, and an inventory of social support systems.  
The Commission services will continue to work towards reliable prevalence and incidence data 
according to age and based on the EUROCODE methodology. In particular, the Commission is 
working on actions under the Health Programme on better prevalence data and on studies on cohorts 
of patients or on subjects at risk as part of a long itudinal follow-up necessary for the detection of risk 
factors, intervention projects on the same factors a nd validation of new criteria for early diagnosis . 
DEMENTIA IN EUROPE YEARBOOK . The 'Dementia in Europe Yearbook' it's an initiative of "Alzheimer 
Europe" with the support of the European Commission.  It has been published for the first time in 2006 
                                                 
27 Decision No 1982/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 (OJ 
L412/1 30.12.2006) & Council decisi on No 2006/971/E C) of 19 December 2006 (OJ L54/30 22.2.2007) 
28 http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_projects /alzheimer_project_full_listing_en.htm  
29 http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_projects /2002/rare_diseases/raredis_2002_03_en.htm  
30 http://www.pitt.edu/~supe r1/lecture/lec9341/021.htm  
 
EN 8   EN providing European overviews of the prevalence of  dementia, the reimbursement systems for anti-
dementia drugs and the provision of home care, as well as a detailed description of these findings for 
31 European countries (27 Member States of the Eu ropean Union, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and 
Turkey). The 2007 release reveals the huge discrepancies that exist across Europe when it comes to the 
services that exist and the support provided by govern ments for people with dementia and their carers.  
THE 'DEMENTIA CARER 'S SURVEY '. This survey, which involved more than 1,100 carers from five 
European countries, was conducted by an alliance of Alzheimer’s associ ations to investigate the state 
of dementia care, how carers cope with looking af ter someone with dementia, and the services made 
available to them. Overall, only 17% of carers consider ed that the level of care for the elderly in their 
country is good.  
COMMISSION STUDY ON MORTALITY DUE TO ALZHEIMER 'S DISEASE AND DEMENTIA . DG SANCO 
with the cooperation of Eurostat is doing an anal ysis of the mortality patterns due to Alzheimer's 
disease and other dementias for the period 1996-2007 in the 27 Member States. The purpose of the 
study is to have better data based on a comparable register, the causes of death certification statistics, 
about deaths due to these diseases, but also to veri fy the level of underestimation of deaths due to AD 
related to practices of codification not u nderlying AD as the main cause of death. 
2.3 Neurodegenerative diseases in the ICT addressing Societal Challenges Programme  
In addition, the "Action Plan for Ag eing Well in the Information Society"31 includes specific measures 
relevant for neurodegenerative diseases. These include the "Ambient Assisted Living Joint 
Programme"32 using Art. 169, aimed at developing Information and Communications (ICT)-based 
solutions in support of an ageing population. This  initiative is endowed with € 300 million for the 
period 2007-2013 and involves 20 Member States and 3 Associated States. Issues tackled include independent living, suppor t for informal carers, safety and secu rity, cognitive training and training 
interaction.  
In the context of the Competitiveness and Innovatio n Programme, a specific call for proposals of the 
ICT Policy Support Programme for large projects has addressed ICT solutions in support of elderly 
people with cognitive problems was launched. As an outcome the projects Long Lasting Memories, 
ISISEMD
33 and SOCIABLE are being supported.  
3. Non-EC funded, internatio nal funding initiatives on 
Alzheimer's disease and othe r neurodegenerative diseases 
3.1 The International Consortium for Brain Mapping (ICBM)  
ICBM34 was constituted in 1993 thanks to the support of the National Institute of Mental Health 
(USA). The consortium consists of five core re search sites, UCLA, Montreal Neurologic Institute, 
University of Texas at San Antonio, and the Institute  of Medicine, Juelich/Heinrich Heine University - 
Germany, C. & O. Vogt Institute of Brain Res earch – Duesseldorf - Germany. In addition, data 
acquisition sites in Asia and Europe contribute to  this international consortium. Other European 
partners are FIL, London, UK; Finnish Twin Regist ry, Helsinki, Finland; Univ. Caen, Caen, France; 
Univ. Med Centre Utrecht, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 
The primary goal of the ICBM project is to build  and expand the tools available to establish a 
reference system for structural and functional an atomy of the human brain at both macroscopic (in 
vivo) and microscopic (post mortem) levels. The pr oject has created neuroinformatics tools for data 
sharing that allow laboratories worldwide to contri bute data to a constantly evolving brain atlas.  
3.2 INTERDEM – Early detection and timely intervention in dementia  
                                                 
31 Communication on "Ageing Well in the Information Society", COM/2007/0332 final (14.06.07) 
32 http://www.aal-europe.eu/  
33 http://www.isisemd.eu/  
34 http://www.loni.ucla.edu/ICBM/  
 
EN 9   EN The purpose of this network is to promote, deve lop and carry out research on early detection and 
psychosocial intervention in dementia, to build capacity and to develop a better understanding of the 
experience of people with dementia and their families, throughout Europe.  
INTERDEM35 is a network of researchers, practitioners , people with dementia and their carers who 
have a particular focus on early and timely su pport, psychosocial intervention and disability 
prevention in dementia, at the primary / community  - specialist care interface. Most scientists are 
gerontological research-practitioners who focus on psychosocial (as opposed to neurobiological) 
approaches to the early recognition and intervention in dementia, throughout Europe. The network is 
dedicated to person-centred values and working togeth er with people with dementia and their family 
carers, by placing them at the centre of research and practice and encouraging their active participation 
Partners include the United Kingdom, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, 
Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Greece, Poland, Sweden , Austria, Denmark, Fi nland, China (plus Hong 
Kong). Each country has a named co-ordinator wi th some countries (such as the UK, Spain, The 
Netherlands and Italy), having a larger membersh ip group than others. The network has been 
sponsored at national and international level, including the European Commission. 
3.3 E-ADNI - The European Alzheimer’s disease Ne uroimaging Initiative: a pilot study of the 
European Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium  
The largest project on Alzheimer’s disease curren tly under way worldwide is the US-based ADNI - 
Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative36, co-sponsored by the NIH ($ 40 Million) and Industry 
($ 20 Million). The Alzheimer’s disease Neuroimagi ng Initiative (ADNI) aims to collect imaging and 
biomarker data to track the progression of the di sease, and to validate these markers for use in AD 
treatment trials testing the efficacy of disease-modifying drugs.  
In Europe, two related projects are currently under way. The Pilot European ADNI (E-ADNI37) 
supported by the US-based Alzheimer's Association (€  230,000) aims at testing the feasibility of the 
ADNI markers in 6 European centres. The ENIR – Foresight Study for the Development of a 
European NeuroImage Repository38 is supported by the European Commission (€ 150,000) and aims 
to design the infrastructure for centralized image collection.  
The overall goal of the Pilot E-ADNI project is to demonstrate that a multicentre multinational study 
in Europe, similar to ADNI, is feasible. In par ticular it should demonstrate that the core ADNI 
methodology, i.e. standardized and centralized colle ction of MR imaging, clinical data, blood, and 
CSF samples can be adopted by European Centres of the European Alzhei mer's Disease Consortium 
(EADC). Data will be collected from six investigati onal sites and 9 subjects will be involved to collect 
data at a single time point. Once collected by the participating centres, data and specimens will be sent 
to central repositories. 
In Europe, 50 clinical and research centres (the European Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium – EADC) 
are currently carrying out Europe wide clinical  trials (Sanofi’s Xaliproden and Neurochem’s 
Alzhemed) which collect clinical, imaging, and biolog ical information in a standardized fashion while 
harmonization and centralized collection are cared for by external agenci es. Further evidence of 
coordinated multisite Alzheimer's disease studies in Europe include the German CompetenzNetwork, 
the Swedish network on Alzheimer’s disease (B rainPower), and a multicentre FDG PET imaging 
study funded by the EC39. 
The Industry board funding the US-ADNI has expressed  interest into a public-private partnership 
similar to the US-ADNI to fund an extension of the two ongoing European projects into a full scale European ADNI.  
                                                 
35 http://interdem.alzheimer-europe.org/  
36 http://www.adni-info.org  
37 http://www.centroalzheim er.it/E-ADNI_project.htm  
38 http://www.enir.eu  
39 Herholz et al., Neuroimage 2002;17:302-16 
 
EN 10   EN This pilot study is aimed to act as a springboard to prepare a more extensive longitudinal study in the 
EU as a companion or to complement the US-ADNI.  
The centres – mostly from the EADC – taking part  in the project have been selected based on 
scientific expertise, demonstrated activity within  the consortium, and geographic representativeness.  
4. Public funding going to fightin g Alzheimer's disease and othe r neurodegenerative diseases 
in individual Member States 
This document is by no means exhaustive but simp ly aims at providing an overview of data 
publicly available. Since it is recommended that a more detailed stocktaking be undertaken, it 
would be an important task for coordination and exchange of information among Member States, as they are the ones to have access to primary in formation on funding priorities, 
actions and infrastructures funded at national level. 
4.
1 Overview of public spending on ne urodegenerative diseases for the year 2005 
In 2006, the Karolinska Institute and the Stockholm School of Economics, supported by the European 
Commission, performed a review of resources allocation to brain research throughout Europe40. The 
study results showed that the total spending on  brain research in Europe in 2005 amounted to 
approximately € 4.1 billion, of which € 855 m illion came from the public sector (21% of total 
funding). The European Commission contributed € 94  million to this endeavour. Government funding 
constituted 78% of total public funding, while 22%  came from charitable foundations. The European 
pharmaceutical industry spent approximately € 3.3 bi llion on brain research per year (range: € 2.7–3.9 
billion), corresponding to 79% of the total funding for brain research in Europe. In contrast, in the US, 
about €6.1 billion came from public sources (93.5% government and 6.5% charities) and € 8.4 billion 
from industry funding (58% of the total funding).  
The EU-15 countries accounted for 91% of total spe nding. Public funding for brain research varied 
between European countries, ranging from € 60 000 in  Malta to € 312 million in the UK. Ireland had 
the highest level of public spending per inhabitant (€ 6.73), followed by the UK (€ 5.2) and Hungary 
(€ 2.7). The lowest level was found in Latvia (€  0.14 per inhabitant). Hungary, the Netherlands, 
Norway, Sweden and France also had per capita sp ending above the European average, which was 
estimated at € 1.2.  
The funding body which most contributed among government agencies, is the group of UK Research 
Councils (Medical Research Council, 62%; Biot echnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, 
26%; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research  Council, 9.5%; Economic and Social Research 
Council, 2.5 %.), which accounted for € 191 million (41.4% of the total reported government funding). 
Other substantial contributions we re provided by the German For schungsgemeinschaft (€ 39 million), 
the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (€ 25 million), the Hungarian National Office for 
Research and Technology (€ 28 million) and the Italia n Ministry of Health (€ 25 million). The average 
reported spending by government agencies was € 5.7 million (excluding UK Research Councils), 
and 40% of the government agencies reporte d a research spending below € 1 million. 
Basic research not related to speci fic disorders accounted for 47% of total spending, or € 598 million. 
53% of the total research spending could be attribut ed to specific brain disorders. In particular, € 57 
million went to for dementia and Alzheimer's dis ease, € 31 million to Parkinson's disease and € 17 
million to multiple sclerosis.  
In spite of substantial efforts at national and Eur opean level, the picture of support to ND research in 
Europe appears complex. This preliminary analys is shows the large variety of current financing 
systems, the diversity of research policies and organizational structures across Member States and the wide variation in the respective spending on neurodegenerative diseases research by different 
organisations and countries.  
                                                 
40 P. Sobocki et al (2006); Resource allocation to brain rese arch in Europe – a full report; Eur. J. Neurosci 24(10): 1-
24  
 
EN 11   EN Coordination of national research efforts in this fiel d at European level is far from being achieved. Key 
elements accountable for this situation include: 
- The barriers between disciplines and fields of research, and the compartmentalisation of 
research activities. The knowledge needed to adva nce our understanding of the problem and its 
potential solutions, spans not only across broad and di verse range of disciplines and stakeholders, but 
across the different European countries. 
- A major weakness is the missing linkages between basic, clinical and public health - social 
research, which leads to a limited integration of th e existing or acquired basic knowledge into current 
clinical practice and care organisation and delivery. 
- The implementation of these activities, mainly in a national context, reinforcing fragmentation 
and limiting the sharing of current best practices throughout the EU as regards to diagnosis, treatment and prevention.  
Thus, despite the fact that a high volume of financ ial resources is used, and a substantial portfolio of 
initiatives is carried out by individual Member States, current efforts are not benefiting from the 
advantages that a coherent and coordinated approach
 would bring about. 
Approaches at a macro level are the way to bridge  the gaps in our unders tanding and actions. A few 
examples include the identification of best practice in early diagnosis of AD and related disorders as 
well as the use of existing interventions, which coul d be best achieved by the sharing of knowledge 
and efforts. Coordinated databases with relevant genomic information, banks of samples and tissues 
will be of course essential to this aim. 
The development and validation of new therapies as  well as the assessment of the effectiveness of 
current ones will require conducting large-scale clini cal studies whose natural environment would be 
trans-country collaboration, in view of the very la rge number of patients of (more or less) different 
genetic background needed to be involved if meaningful results are to be expected. 
Similarly, the launching and integration of larg e-scale population cohorts, databases and registries 
would be necessary in order to fully understand th e role and contribution of genetics, nutrition, 
behaviour and other risk factors in the devel opment of these diseases, and the place for prevention 
strategies. Fully understanding and e xploiting the European diversity re lated to these risk factors could 
provide a competitive advantage with respect  to a better understanding of the disease. 
Standardization of diagnostic criteria and assessme nt tools throughout Member States would be 
essential if best practices and optimal clinical care are to be delivered across Europe. 
By allowing the pooling of a critical mass of skills, knowledge and financial resources and by 
facilitating interdisciplinarity, a joint action would ac celerate the provision of solutions to the medical 
and social challenges posed by these diseases. 
A dedicated Joint Programming action in this politically and socially highly challenging area would 
capitalize on the existing structures and programmes, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of work, 
efforts and eventually resources, for the benefit of all European citizens. It would also help EU to 
develop a coherent approach in international co operation on this topic with third countries of 
comparable demographic profile and facing the same issues, building on initiatives such as the 
European Alzheimer’s Disease  Neuroimaging Initiative41 (pilot-ADNI) supported by the US National 
Institutes of Health.  
                                                 
41 http://www.adni-info.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1  
 
EN 12   EN ANNEX I 
NATIONAL FUNDING INITIATIVES  
AUSTRIA The Federal Ministry for Science and Research
42 (BMWF) look at the main research aim at a 
sustainable increase of the R&D-level in Austria.  Strengthening basic research will on the long run 
foster economic growth and pros perity. Moreover, research generally contributes to the cultural 
development of Austria's society, and the progr ess of science is considered an essential value. 
The BMWF shares responsibility for the Austrian Science Fund43 (FWF) with the Ministry of 
Transport, Innovation and Technology, and it fu nds a number of thematic and structural R&D 
programmes as well as measures developing human res ources; it provides institutional funding for the 
Austrian Academy of Sciences and some non-university  research institutions. The largest share of its 
budget are allocated to Austrian public univers ities via the General University Fund (GUF)  
The largest share of BMWF's budget goes to the pub lic universities, polytechnical colleges, to the 
Austrian Academy of Sciences and some other smaller institutions as well as to international 
organizations (e.g. CERN, ESO) as institutional bl ock-funding. Moreover, competitive funding is 
allocated through a number of thematic research progr ammes, some of which are managed by external 
agencies, e.g. the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency 
(FFG).Total annual budget in national currency €3,515.4m  
FWF Austrian Science Fund 
The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is Austria's cen tral funding organization for basic research. The 
purpose of the FWF is to support the ongoing developm ent of Austrian science and basic research at a 
high international level. Overall, in 2008, the FWF granted € 164.4 million through different granting 
schemes. Of those, € 102.2 million were for the natu ral sciences (incl. Biolog y, 62.2 %) and € 18.5 
million for medicine (11.3 %).  
Funding schemes include support for: Stand-alone Pr ojects –mostly basic research – for an overall 
value of € 89.9 million in 2008 (357 projects); Speci al Research Programs ( SFB) designed to promote 
the creation of research networks in specific areas of  research or at an individual university. In 2008, 
the FWF approved grants for two Special Research Programs with a total of 23 sub-projects. The 
overall volume of funding approved came to approximately € 11 million €. 
The FWF also supports National Research Networks  (NFN) aimed at developing nationwide research 
networks for collaborative multidisciplinary work on larger research projects in the medium term. In 
2008, the FWF approved grants for two NFN and re newed three other ones. The overall volume of 
funding came to approximately 12 million €. 
The FWF is also supporting International Programm es. In 2008, the FWF approved funding for a total 
of 27 projects, 12 of them in six ERA-Net calls, including NEURON. In 2008, the FWF also 
substantially expanded its activities in the field of bilateral research cooperation with Germany, 
Switzerland, Russia and China. The latter was focused in the areas of biology and medicine. 
Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)  
This is the national funding institution for applied in dustrial research in Austria. It funds research and 
innovation via General Programmes, EU Preparator y Funding Programmes, Structural Programmes, 
and Thematic Programmes.  
Vienna Biocenter Campus  
                                                 
42 http://www.bmwf.gv.at/submenue/english/  
43 http://www.fwf.ac. at/en/index.asp  
 
EN 13   EN The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP)44 in Vienna is a basic biomedical centre 
sponsored largely by the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, and located in the Campus 
Vienna Biocenter (VBC). Their research spans a broad range of topics, including neurobiology, 
computational and structural biology, cell and deve lopmental biology, epigenetics, immunology and 
disease mechanisms.  
The Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA)45 of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, sitting also 
in the Campus, is a basic research institute within  the fields of molecular biology and biomedicine. 
IMBA’s vision is to understand the fundamental molecular processes and their contribution to 
disease. Targeted areas of application include major disease areas such as neurodegenerative diseases 
and cancer.  
The Gregor Mendel Institute, as well the spin-off Inte rcell or AFFiRiS, founded in 2003 and currently 
in the process of bringing a vaccine against Al zheimer’s to market, sit also in the campus.  
BELGIUM 
Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology 
The Flanders Institute for Biotechnology46 (VIB) is a research institute whose main objective is 
gathering innovative basic knowledge on the norma l and abnormal or pathological processes occurring 
in a cell, an organ and an organism (humans, plants, micro organisms), using gene technological 
research. One of the key areas covered is  neurobiology and Alzheimer's disease. 
The VIB researchers work in research departments of four Flemish universities: Ghent University, 
K.U.Leuven, the University of Antwer p and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.  
The Department of Molecular and Developments  Genetics concentrate on genetic diseases that 
manifest themselves as neuronal disease and cancer. This includes the areas of neuronal cell biology 
and cell transfer; neurogenetics; molecular neurobiology and neuronal communication.  
The Department of Molecular Genetics47 at the University of Antwer p focuses is specialized in the 
genetic analysis of complex ne urological and neuropsychiatric diseases. Areas covered include in 
particular the genetics, genomics and neuropathology of the Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, attempting to find molecular mechanisms of protein aggregation in dementia. 
Institute Borne-Bunge 
The Institute Born-Bunge
48 is a research group affiliated w ith the University of Antwerp - UA 
(Belgium). The institute is devoted to the study of  Alzheimer's disease and related conditions such as 
Parkinson's disease, as well as other brain disorders. 
The IBB focuses at a better integration and correlati on of fundamental, clinical and neuropathological 
data concerning neurological conditions employing molecular genetics, biochemistry, experimental 
analyses of behavioral alterations and computational neurosciences. 
The IBB Biobank is a mutual initiative of the research  units of the IBB department Neurology that is 
based upon the original brain bank. 
Belgian Foundation for Alzheimer Research 
The Belgian Foundation for Alzheimer research49, a non profit organization, is devoted to support 
research in this field in Belgium. In the last 10 years it has supported 38 projects for an overall value 
of € 2,5 million. Awards range from € 40.00 0 to € 80.000 for a 2 years period.  
                                                 
44 http://www.imp.ac.at/about-the-imp/  
45 http://www.imba.oeaw.ac.at/  
46 http://www.vib.be/VIB /EN/VIB+at+a+glance/  
47
 http://www.vib.be/Research/EN/R esearch+Depar tments/Departmen t+of+Molecular+Ge netics/Christine+
Van+Broeckhoven/  
48 http://www.bornbunge.be/  
 
EN 14   EN Free University of Brussels 
The laboratory of general histology,  neuroanatomy and neuropathology50 at the Free University of 
Brussels (ULB) is devoted to research on Alzheime r's disease and LSA, in particular as regards their 
pathogenetic mechanisms using cellular and animal models.  
Catholic University of Leuven 
The laboratory of Experimental Pharmacology51 at UCL devotes efforts to the study of the 
mechanisms underlying the formation and deposition of amyloid fibers in Alzhei mer's disease as well 
as to investigate the catabolism of amyloid precursors.  
University of Liege 
The CNCM52, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiolog y, gathers 8 research units devoted to the 
study of the development and function of the centr al and peripheral nervous system in physiological 
and pathological conditions. The research areas addressed amongst others the neurobiology of 
development, cellular and tissu e biology and brain repair. 
In addition, as part of its 2007 call for proposals,  the Department for Research and Scientific 
Cooperation of the Wallon Region has awarded € 5 million (48 months) to the project NEUROCOM. 
This public-private collaboration between the Centre  for Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience of the 
University of Liege and UCB PHARMA is aimed at  developing new therapies for neurodegenerative 
disorders and epilepsy.  
Programme of Excellence Marshall 
A joint collaboration between the Catholic Univer sity of Leuven (UCL) and the Wallon Region, the 
Plan Marsall has recently launched the DIANE progr amme, focused on inflammatory mechanisms in 
neurological diseases, particularly tackling Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. The overall funding of this initiative is of € 25 million over 5 year s, cost to be equally shared by both funders.  
Main partners of this initiative include the UCL-FA RL Laboratory of Experimental Pharmacology, the 
Unit of Neurochemistry
53 of UCL and the Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry54 at UCL – BCHM. 
BULGARIA 
University of Sofia 
The Department of Neurology55 at Sofia University performs research in the field of 
neurodegenerative disorders. Main interests in clude Alzheimer's disease genotyping and therapeutic 
strategies and functional imaging of neurodegenerative disorders. 
Foundation Compassion Bulgaria 
The Foundation56 is aimed at improving the quality of life for people suffering from Alzheimer and 
dementia in Bulgaria, by changing the current a ttitude and practices towards them and providing 
access to treatments and social help 
CZECK REPUBLIC 
Czech Science Foundation  – GACR (Grantová agentura České republiky)  
                                                                                                                                                         
49 http://www.tousconcernes.be/fr/fondation.cfm  
50 http://www.ulb.ac.be/rech/inventaire/unites/ULB598.html  
51 http://www.farl.ucl.ac.be/introfr.html  
52 http://www.cncm.ulg.ac.be/en/home  
53 http://www.md.uclouvain.be/  
54 http://www.md.uclouvain.be/  
55 http://www.kn.medfac-sofi a.eu/ep_traykov_eng.htm  
56 http://www.alzhei merbulgaria.org/  
 
EN 15   EN The Czech Science Foundation (GACR)57, established in 1993, promotes progress over the whole 
range of basic research in the Czech Republic. In the period of 2003-2005 two projects were supported 
for a total amount of € 1 199 793. 
The Czech Alzheimer Society58, established in 1996, provides consultancy help and works in 
cooperation with clinical centres to ame liorate the life of affected patients  
The Institute of Experimental Medicine (ASCR)  
ENI-PRAGUE59 is located at the Institute of Experimental Medicine (IEM), Academy of Sciences of 
the Czech Republic (ASCR) and bel ongs to the network of European  neurosciences Institutes. The 
groups have developed particular e xpertise in magnetic resonance imaging, the use of stem cells and 
biopolymer hydro gels in the treatment of nervous  tissue injury and degeneration, the real-time 
iontophoretic method of diffusion analysis, pre- an d postsynaptic patch-clamp recordings of receptor 
activity, antibody development, and yeast two-hybrid systems.  
The Institute also coordinates the Marie Curie Tr aining Network "Axonal rege neration, plasticity and 
stem cells" (AXREGEN), aimed at understanding centr al brain damage and its potential mechanisms 
of repair, a key issue for neurodegenerative disorders. 
CYPRUS 
The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics 
The Cyprus Institute of  Neurology and Genetics60 is a non-profit making institution. It provides 
specialized services and research in neurology,  genetics, DNA forensics, molecular biology, 
histopathology and virology. Services and research aim towards early detection and prevention of 
disease, the provision of high quality medical services and improvement of the quality of life of the 
community. The Institute also provides for resear ch and educational programmes on neurological and 
genetic conditions and all other aspects of molecular biology and genetics.  
Areas addressed include neurological and genetic conditions such as muscular dystrophy, multiple 
sclerosis, epilepsy, chromosomal abnormalities and all other aspects of molecu lar biology and genetics 
such as thalasaemia, molecular virology, mental re tardation, cardiovascular disease, stroke, cystic 
fibrosis and neurogenetics.  
The neuroscience laboratory has been established in 2003 with the mission to develop internationally 
competitive basic and translational research focu sing on disease models for neurological disorders in 
order to identify new therapeutic possibilities.  
DENMARK 
NeuroCampus Aarhus 
NeuroCampus Aarhus61 (NCA) is a crosscutting research  cluster within neuroscience and 
cognition at the University of Aarhus (AU), supported by the Lundbeck Foundation, The 
Danish National Research Foundation, Aarhus Univ ersity Hospitals, the Danish Ministry of 
Science, Technology and Innovation, a nd numerous industrial partners.  
NeuroCampus Aarhus strives to  understand normal brain function and its changes in 
neurological and psychiatric diseases. NC A comprise basic sciences ranging from 
neurogenetics, molecular and cellular neurobiol ogy to clinical neuros cience, rehabilitation 
research and cognitive neuroscience. Neur oCampus research has strong translational 
traditions, being partly embedded in the Aarhus  University Hospital neurological hospital. 
                                                 
57 http://www.gacr.cz/ international.htm  
58 http://www.alzheimer.cz/  
59 http://www.iem.cas.cz/  
60 http://www.cing.ac.cy/ 
61 http://www.neurocampus.au.dk/  
 
EN 16   EN The CND Disease Modelling Group62 focuses its efforts in the neurodegenerative process in 
synucleinopathies with a special focus in Park inson’s disease. The Neurodegenerative Disease 
Laboratory63 (NDL) is interested in the processes th at cause brain proteins to aggregate and 
thus partake in the developmen t of late onset neur odegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s 
disease and Parkinson’s diseas e. NDL is part of the Dani sh Innovation Consortium CureND, 
the Nordic Centre of Excellence in Molecular Neurodegeneration and the EU Network for Initial Training NEURASYNC and well as colla borating internationally  on more Michael J 
Fox funded projects. 
NeuroCampus includes the Centre of Functiona lly Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN), founded 
in 2001 as a Danish National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence within neuroscience. 
CFIN applies state of art im aging technologies to the study of neurodegenerative and 
psychiatric diseases. 
Cure Neurodegeneration Denmark 
Established in 2006, CureND64 is a new public-private sector re search consortium comprising Aalborg 
University and Wyeth Research, a division of US A's Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, whose objectives are 
finding cures for neurodegenerative diseases such as  Parkinson's disease. The project has a budget of 
USD 7.5 million, of which USD 2.3 million comes from public sector grants and USD 5.3 million from Wyeth.  
CureND research and company partners are th e Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and 
Environmental Engineering at Aalborg University, the Department of Health Science and Technology 
at Aalborg University, the Institute of Medical Biochemistry at the University of Aarhus, the 
Department of Molecular Biology at the University  of Aarhus, the Parkinson's Disease Clinic at 
Aarhus University Hospital, Wyeth Research, Bioneer A/S and NemoMed A/S.  
Main areas of research include proteomics-based iden tification of key features of early and late stage 
Parkinson’s disease, development and characterizati on of suitable cell-based models of Parkinson’s 
disease and brain-image analysis of Parkinson’ s disease patients to complement proteomics 
approaches.  
University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen Brain Research Centre 
The Copenhagen Brain Research Centre
65 is established as a platform for interdisciplinary 
collaboration in brain research with a high interna tional impact. Its main objective is to perform 
research related to brain function in diseased, in jured and normal states and to serve as a national 
centre for interdisciplinary brain research. 
Partners include the Department of Medical Chemis try at the University of Pharmaceutical Sciences; 
H. Lundbeck A/S; the Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance; the Hvidovre Hospital; The 
PET and Cyclotron Unit at Rigshospitalet, Cope nhagen University Hospital; the Informatics and 
Mathematical Modelling Department  at the Technical University of Denmark; the Neurobiology 
Research Unit of Rigshospitalet and the Departme nt of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities at 
University of Copenhagen.  
The Department of Neurosciences and Pharmacology66 at the University of Copenhagen, focuses on 
research spanning from molecular pharmacology and ce llular studies of nervous tissues to studies of 
the advanced functions and diseases of the nervous system.  
                                                 
62 http://www.neurocampus.au.dk/menu47-en  
63 http://www.neurocampus.au.dk/menu50-en  
64 http://www.neurocampus.au.dk/menu55-en  
65 http://cbrc.dk/  
66 http://cms.ku.dk/sund-sites/inf-sites/english/  
 
EN 17   EN It also includes the Neuroscience Centre at Rigshosp italet. This is composed of the Departments of 
Neuroanesthesiology, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Neur ophysiology and Clinic for Spinal Cord Injuries. 
One of the main areas of focus of the Department of the Department of Neurology is dementias and 
cognitive disorders including patient databases. The Neurobiology Research Unit at Rigshospitalet,67 
addresses research areas such as the neuroimaging of brain disorders and the role of neurotransmission in the development of Alzheimer's and depression.  
National Centre for Dementia Research and Education 
The National Centre for Dementia an Education68 was established in 2007, co-financed by the 
Ministry of Health and the "Helsefonden". It will run from 2007 to 2011 w ith an overall financial 
support of € 2,3 million. It includes the Memory Disorders Clinic, the R esearch and Development 
programme and the education and training programme.  
Objective of the centre is to coordinate and strengt hen dementia research in health care and treatment. 
Activities of the centre include amongst other taki ng part in the Danish Alzheimer Intervention 
Study69 (DAISY) is a research program, which has the overall aim to improve the early social support 
to patients with dementia and their caregivers. Co llaborators included the Institute for Health Care 
Research, the University of Southern Denmark, Oden se, the Institute for Public Health, University of 
Copenhagen and the Alzheimer Association. 
Lundbeck International Neuroscience Foundation  
The Lundbeck International Neuroscience Foundation70 and the Lundbeck Inst itute were established 
by Lundbeck A/S in 1997. The aim of this instituti on is to contribute through educational activities to 
improve the quality of life for pa tients suffering from neurological and psychiatric diseases. The 
Lundbeck Foundation made donations of DKK 281 million in 2007. 
ESTONIA 
Estonian Science Foundation Grants 
The Estonian Science Foundation (ETF), established by the Estonian Government, is aimed at 
supporting the most promising research initiatives in a ll fields of basic and applied research. The ETF 
uses state budget appropriations to award peer-reviewed  research grants to individuals and research 
groups on a competitive basis. Several projects are been supported in the area of neurodegenerative 
diseases, whose details can be found at the Estonian Research Portal71. The areas tackled include 
Alzheimer's amyloid beta peptides, in vitro t ests fore screening, neurotoxic mechanisms in 
neurodegeneration. 
Centre of Molecular and Clinical Medicine 
The Centre of Molecular and Clinical Medicine at Tartu University72 was established in 2001 to raise 
the strengths of Estonian medical research and to concentrate the skills and funds in a selected cutting-
edge areas of medical research, neuroscience in partic ular. The Centre brings together ten of the best 
preclinical and clinical research groups from the Univ ersity of Tartu and is considered as a centre of 
excellence within the FP7 REGPOT project: "Adva ncing scientific performance and regional potential 
of Estonian biomedical research, 2008–2011". 
Main research areas of investment include: the genetic, biochemical, and physiological factors 
contributing to mental and behavioural disorders (role of neuropeptides in behavioural and mental 
disorders, eating disorders, genomics of behaviour and mental disorders); th e mechanisms responsible 
for neurodegeneration (brain bioenergetics, oxi dative stress, neuroimmunology and inflammation); 
                                                 
67 http://nru.dk/research/groups/  
68 http://www.videnscenterfordemens.dk/87we.aspx  
69 http://daisy.servicestyrelsen.dk/wm140462  
70 http://www.lundbeck.com/sustainability/l undbeck_institute/lu_inst/default.asp  
71 https://www.etis.ee/index.aspx  
72 http://biomedicum.ut .ee/cetm/?lang_id=4  
 
EN 18   EN Interaction between genes and the environment in  neurological diseases and the development of new 
therapies for neurological diseases (neuroprotectants, neuronal stem cells, probiotics). 
 
EN 19   EN FINLAND 
Academy of Finland 
The Academy of Finland supports substantial research  efforts in this field as part of its national 
research strategy on centres of excellence in resear ch and strategic centres for science, technology and 
innovation, as well as trough international collaboration schemes.  
This includes the Centre of Excellence in Mo lecular and Integrative Neuroscience Research73 (2008-
2013). Research at this CoE focuses on the molecular and systems- level neurobiological mechanisms 
based on the effects of trophic factors in brain development, plasticity (learning and memory) and in the pathogenesis and treatment of diseases. 
Scientists at the CoE are particularly interested  on trophic factors, intracellular messenger cascades 
and ion transport proteins that regulate electrical and chemical signalling in brain cells and in neuronal 
networks and play a decisive role in diseases, su ch as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as in the 
actions of medical substances used in the treatment of these diseases. The CoE aims to put its research 
results into practical use, especia lly in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. 
The CoE is made up of 7 research teams, with 3 par ticipating institutes: the Institute of Biotechnology, 
the Neuroscience Centre and the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the 
University of Helsinki. The CoE has a staff of 72. 
The CoE in Research on Mitochondrial Disease and Ageing74 (FINMIT, 2002-2007, 2008-2013) is 
made up of 4 research teams from IMT and the Research Programme of Molecular Neurology at the 
University of Helsinki The research involves 50 sci entists from almost 20 different countries, and the 
leaders of the research teams represent four diffe rent nationalities. The CoE also has active research 
collaborations with cognate research teams in th e UK, France, and the US, Canada, Japan and other 
countries. The network has been renewed for the period 2008-2013.  
The Helsinki Brain Research Centre75 (HBRC, 2002-2007) applies the latest methods of brain research 
to investigate the principles of cognitive brain function. HBRC serves as an umbrella for six research 
teams from two of the biggest universities and lead ing hospitals in the country. The purpose of the 
centre's research is to explore the foundations of  learning, memory, attentiveness, emotions and 
language in the brain. 
The Centre of Excellence in Systems Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research76 (2006-2011) is 
developing new brain imaging methods with the goa l to provide more in-depth understanding of the 
functions of the human brain at the systems level. Researchers at the CoE study brain functions and their disorders in both adults and children. Coordi nation is ensured by the Helsinki University of 
Technology and the University of Helsinki. 
Strategic Centres for Science, Technology and Innovation 
The Academy of Finland contributes to the operation of the Strategic Centres for Science, Technology 
and Innovation77 (CSTIs) by funding the high-level research  within them that is carried out at 
universities and research institutes.  The Strategic Centre for Hea lth and Well-being launched its 
operations on 6 April 2009. The goal of the Strategic Centre is to improve the health and well-being of 
the individual. One of the areas selected focus are neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. The 
first three programmes of the SHOK will start at the beginning of 2010. The programmes will focus on 
                                                 
73 http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/Science-in -society/Centres-of-Excellence-/Cen tres-of-Excellence-in-Research-in-2008-
2013/CoE-in-Molecular-and-Integrative-Neuroscience-Research/  
74 http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/Science-in -society/Centres-of-Excellence-/Cen tres-of-Excellence-in-Research-in-2008-
2013/CoE-in-Research-on-Mitochondrial-Disease-and-Ageing/  
75 http://www.hbrc.helsinki.fi/  
76 http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/Science-in -society/Centres-of-Excellence-/Cen tres-of-Excellence-in-Research-in-2006-
2011/CoE-in-Systems-Neuroscien ce-and-Neuroimaging-Research/  
77 http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/Science- in-society/Strategic-Centres-for-Science-Technology-and-Innovation/  
 
EN 20   EN brain health and functional capacity, smart monitori ng of individual health and well-being, and on 
obesity and related health challenges 
International research programmes in neurosciences 
The Research Programme on Neuroscience78 (NEURO) is a four-year programme between Finland, 
Canada and China providing funding for cutting-e dge neuroscience research in the participating 
countries. The programme involves 16 Finnish, f our Finnish-Chinese and three Finnish-Canadian 
research projects. It provides simultaneous, c oordinated funding for the projects during 2006–2009. 
One of the main areas addressed is the diseases of th e nervous systems as well as the mechanisms of 
dysfunction and repair. 
The programme is also aimed at strengthening co llaboration with neuroscience research programmes 
and doctoral programmes in other countries. NEUR O is funded by the Academy of Finland, the 
National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the In stitute of Neurosciences, Mental 
Health and Addiction (INMHA) of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research 
Kuopio University 
The Kuopio University campus in Finland hosts a bout 20 neuroscience groups and 5 graduate schools. 
The 2 major basic science facilities, the Sciences  and the Neurobiology are located near the 
Department of Neurology in Kuopio University Hosp ital. The major research interests include studies 
on 3 neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and stroke.  
Kuopio University is also coordinating the Mari e Curie Early Stage Researcher (EST) programme 
BIND79 where over 20 senior investigators join their expe rtise to capitalize the benefits of synergy in 
methodology, infrastructure, data sharing, and research training. 
The BIND (Biology of Neurodegenerative dis eases) programme aims at 1) identifying novel 
molecular pathways mediating neurodegeneration and repair, 2) developing novel in vitro and in vivo 
models of human neurodegenerative disease, 3) id entifying surrogate markers that predict the 
neurodegenerative process and its outcome, 4) search ing for novel gene mutations linked to human 
neurodegenerative diseases and their func tion in the neurodegenerative process 
The Department of Neurobiology80 at the A.I Virtanen Institute  for Molecular Science focuses 
especially on the neurobiology of diseases affecting the central nervous system (CNS), development of 
disease models and cellular signal transduction. The areas addressed include biomedical Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, cell biology, molecular brain research, molecular signalling and neurobiology of 
memory. 
The Department of Neurology81 at Kuopio University is a resear ch centre for basic and clinical 
neurosciences. Researchers and staff are totalling 60.  
Research focuses on the basic mechanisms, preventi on, drug and clinical research of degenerative 
brain diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease, stroke and epilepsy.  
Most population-based surveys and drug tr ials are run at the Brain Research Unit82. This Unit has 20 
years experience in the field of diagnosis, tr eatment and prevention of neurodegenerative and 
cerebrovascular disorders, particularly as regards st udying the mechanisms of drugs in various model 
systems as well as in the preclinical phase, in studying the genetics and risk factors of complex 
diseases in large population-based cohorts, in deve loping biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases 
and in conducting large-scale clinical trials. GCP level services for clinical pharmaceutical trials (I-IV 
phases) are also available . 
                                                 
78 http://www.aka.fi/Tiedostot/Tutkimus ohjelmaesitteet /Neuro_esite_english.pdf  
79 http://www.uku.fi/bind/  
80 http://www.uku.fi/aivi/neuro/  
81 http://www.uku.fi/neuro/  
82 http://www.uku.fi/ktk/eng/bru/  
 
EN 21   EN Currently, a major focus in drug r esearch in Alzheimer's disease is dir ected at agents with the potential 
effect of decreasing ß-amyloid accumulation and/or promoting its clearance.  There are also facilities 
for genetics and biomarker analysis for search ing new risk genes using single nucleotide 
polymorphism analysis and functional studies.  
It also participates to the FP7 EU Project LipiDiDiet “ Therapeutic and Preventive Impact of 
Nutritional Lipids on Neuronal and Cognitive Perf ormance in Aging, Al zheimer’s disease and 
Vascular Dementia” . This is based on previous observations that lipids change the risk for dementia. 
Especially some omega-3 lipids app ear to lower the Alzheimer risk. Ma jor aim of this endeavour is to 
increase the effectiveness of current therapies, pa rticularly as regards disease prevention and treatment 
in early phases of the disease. 
The Department of Neurology is also a partner of PredictAD83, an EU project aiming at developing a 
standardised and objective solution that would enab le an earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, 
improved monitoring of treatment efficacy and enha nced cost-effectiveness of diagnostic protocols.  
Funded by the NOS-M Joint Committee of the Nordic  Medical Research Councils, the Department of 
Neurology as well as the Virtanen Institute are pa rt of the 2004-2009 netw ork on Neurodegeneration - 
Nordic Centre of Excellence Programme in molecular medicine .84 This network gathers 12 research 
groups from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden a nd is coordinated by the Neuronal Survival Unit 
of the Wallenberg Neuroscience Centre at Lund Un iversity. Research is focused on Alzheimer’s, 
Huntington and Parkinson diseases. Main aims are to address the role of protein aggregation and stress 
in neurodegeneration as well as the mechanisms of  cell dysfunction and death in this process.  
Helsinki University 
The Research Program of Molecular Neurology85 is one of the six Research Programmes of the 
Faculty of Medicine, Helsinki University, for 2007 - 2011. The programme goal is to clarify disease 
mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative and neur opsychiatric diseases. In particular, to address 
mitochondria in degenerative diseases, cell death and neuroprotection, disease and susceptibility genes 
for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson diseases, as well as the study of disease mechanisms in cultured cells, 
animal models and in patients and their tissues. The programme offers also patient counselling for 
information on risk factors.  
FRANCE 
France is endowed with a comprehensive strategy  in this area including a National Neuroscience 
Institute (2009), NPD programme of the National Research Agency  and a  National Research 
Foundation for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. 
The National Neuroscience Institute   
The National Neuroscience Institute86 located within the Institut National de la Recherche Médicale 
(INSERM), conducts research across a broad spectrum from basic research to disease-related science. 
The National Research Agency  
The National Research Agency87 includes the following programme schemes: 
- Non thematic / blue sky: Aims to support basi c research characterized  by novel approaches. 
Open without restriction of scientific areas of di sciplinary fields. Could be public-public as well as 
public-private partnerships.  
- Thematic: Focuses funding on identified questions that could concern societal, scientific and 
technological domains which can be either basic or applied.  
                                                 
83 http://www.predictad.eu/  
84 http://www.ncoe.eu/research.html  
85 http://www.biomedicum.fi/index.php?page=279&lang=2  
86 http://www.inserm.fr/en/instituts/neuroscie nces_neurologie_psyc hiatrie/index.html  
87 http://www.agence-nationa le-recherc he.fr/Intl  
 
EN 22   EN - For public-private partnerships: Thematic progr ammes directed exclusively to public-private 
partnership aimed to promote transfer of t echnologies and valorisation of basic researches. 
- Transnational: Thematic programmes open in collaboration with foreign funding  agency. 
Current initiatives on Alzheimer's disease rese arch through the ANR programmes include:  
- Basic research, trough the blue sky and young researcher's schemes - Medical research, Neurological and psychiatric diseases trough the ERA-NET NEURON, 
aimed at promoting multidisciplinary approaches & partnerships between basic & clinical research 
- Applied research, through Technologies hea lth and assisted living (public-clinic-private 
partnership). This initiative intends to enhance qua lity of life and autonomy by developing solutions 
using molecular imaging, instrumentation, medical  informatics, biomaterials and computer-aided 
technologies 
The French National Plan for Alzh eimer's disease and related disorders 
The Plan
88 proposes 3 axes of action, 11 goals, 44 specif ic objectives and is endowed with an overall 
budget of € 1.6 billion over 5 years. 
The 3 axes are: Medical and social segment (€ 1.2 billion); Healthcare segment (€ 200 million) and the 
Research segment (€ 200 million). The plan intends to provide an unprecedented research effort in the 
field of Alzheimer’s disease and related diseases. 
The main objectives of the plan are: to create a national and international dynamic for collaborative 
research fundamental to care, to use an attractive policy to bolster the network of public and private 
sector researchers, to establish highly capable f undamental clinical and para-clinical research 
infrastructures, to promote interaction with health industries to reduce development time. 
The French Quebec-Canada collaboration 
In addition, France through the INSERM89 has a bilateral programme on neurodegeneration with 
Quebec- Canada. The joint financial contributi on will be of € 700.000/year for France and 1.2 
million/year Canadian dollars. Main objectives are to ensure scientific excellence, support innovative, 
cutting edge aspects of the proposed projects, benef it from the added value of partnership and address 
the likelihood to reach the stated objectives ove r 3 years. The five themes identified for the 
collaboration are biomarkers, animal models and prec linical studies, innovative therapeutic strategies, 
prevention and social and psychological research. 
GERMANY 
The main funding bodies in Germany include the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, budget of 
€ 1.5 billion € in 2007), which supports bottom-up basic research and the Federal Ministry of 
Education and Research (BMBF) which has a top down approach, focussing on applied research. Its 
budget was of € 3 billion in 2008. 
Institutional funding includes: 
Universities 
- 20 out of 36 Universities with medical faculties have a focus on neuroscience  
- Clusters of Excellence in neurosciences at the universities of Tübingen and Berlin 
Non-university research institutes 
- Institutes of Max-Planck Society (MPG) 
- Helmholtz Association (HGF) 
                                                 
88 http://www.plan-alzheimer.gouv.fr  
89 http://www.inserm.fr/en/index.html  
 
EN 23   EN - Wilhelm Gottfried Leibniz Association (WGL) 
The BMBF90 supports research on neurodegenerative di seases and dementias through different 
schemes. The Health Research programme for project  funding of the Federal Ministry of Education 
and Research currently has a budget of circa € 150 m illion per year with an increasing tendency. On 
average about 20% of this budget is spent on neuro sciences, neurology and psychiatry (with annual 
variation according to specific funding initiatives). On e can differentiate between initiatives which are 
specific for research into neurodegenerative diseases, wh ile others are "generic". In the latter, projects 
on neurodegenerative diseases can be applied for and will be selected along with other topics 
according to their quality these include: 
Competence networks in Medicine 
These networks are clinically oriented. The goa l is connect research competences with care 
competences, to establish interdisciplinary national research networks and to integrate nationwide the 
clinical competences of research on a certain disease , in order to promote the transfer of knowledge 
form basic research to clinical application. 
- Stroke (1999-2008, € 14.5 million) 
- Parkinson‘s Syndromes (1999-2008, € 15.3 million) - Dementia (2002-2009, € 12.9 million) - Degenerative Dementias (2007-2010, € 11.6 million, envisaged until 2019, € 40 million) 
- BrainNet (1999-2009, € 8.1 million) National Genome Research Network (NGFN) 
These projects are oriented towards the basic knowle dge foundation of clinical problems. Molecular 
biology teams cooperate with clin ical teams, to advance the unde rstanding about healthy and patho-
physiological molecular processes of the socio-econom ically important disease groups by using high 
throughput methods. There are currently several different relevant consortia 
- Alzheimer‘s Disease (2008-2011, € 5.2 million) 
- Parkinson‘s Disease (2008-2011, € 6.2 million) 
- Neurodegeneration (20 08-2011, € 5.9 million) 
Generic funding measures comprising neurodegeneration 
- Stem cells (2008-2011, € 10 million) 
- Regenerative Medicine (2005-2011, € 30 million) 
- Molecular diagnostics (2006-2011, € 20 million) 
- Innovative Therapies (2005-2013, € 60 million) - Innovative methods for drug develo pment (2007-2012, € 23 million) 
- Molecular imaging (2008-2014, € 45 million) - Clinical trials (2005-2018, € 120 million) - GoBio (10 yrs, € 140 million, transfer from academia into spin-offs) 
- BioPharma (5 yrs, € 100 milli on, public-private partnerships) 
- Nursing Research (2004-2010, € 1.5 million) - Health in Old Age (2008-2011, € 17 million)  
                                                 
90 http://www.gesundheitsforschung-bmbf .de/_media/Roadmap-Bericht.pdf  
 
EN 24   EN In addition, the BMBF has recently established th e National Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases 
(approx € 50 million/year is envisaged) together with  the Helmholtz Society. The core institute is 
located in Bonn, satellites in Göttingen, Magdebu rg, Munich, Rostock/Greifswald, Tübingen and 
Witten-Herdecke. Main areas of research include e tiopathology, prevention, and diagnosis, therapies, 
health care and nursing.  
Project funding within the programme on “Forschung an Fachhochschulen” of the Federal 
Ministry of Education and Research  
In Germany there is a second type of University  (“Fachhochschule”) whic h covers more applied 
disciplines and education of students. BMBF mana ges a programme to foster research at these 
university-ties. Within this programme "Forsc hung a Fachhochschulen", a funding initiative is 
planned, which focuses on social innovation for qua lity of life in old age. The purpose is foster 
research how to in-crease quality and efficiency of ca re and the life situation of elder and chronically 
ill responding to changes in demand and requireme nts in the disciplines “S ocial Work”, “Public 
Health” and “Nursing Research”, which can contribute significantly to ameliorate life of elder persons.  
“Leuchtturm Demenz “ of the Federal Ministry of Health  
The BMG has launched a call for proposals on h ealth care research on  Alzheimer’s disease 
and related dementias on the following four  domains (2009-2010, € 13 million, 14 projects): 
1. interventions in therapy and care, effectiven ess during everyday care 2. Evaluation of care 
infrastructures 3. Ensuring evidence based car e 4. Evaluation und prom otion of targeted 
education of personnel  
Alzheimer Forschung Initiative e.V. (AFI) 
Established in 1995 it is the largest private sponsor fo r AD research in Germany. AFI is interested in 
funding causal, diagnostic and clinical research for AD. 66 projects from German universities and 
public bodies were funded with a total amount of  € 3,625 million since 1995. In 2005/2006: 5 projects 
from German universities were funded with a total amount of € 318.000, 2 projects were funded in 
France with a total amount of € 8000 0 to support European research and the French sister organisation. 
In 2007, 8 projects were funded for € 480.000.  For the 2006-2009 period, 13 projects were funded for 
a total amount of € 797 000 .  
GREECE 
The General Secretariat for Re search and Technology (GSRT)91, at the Greek Ministry of 
Development, is the central agency for the admi nistration of the Greek R&D and Innovation system. 
The GSRT is responsible for drawing up and im plementing a national R&D and Innovation strategy. 
The national research programmes implemented by the GSRT, together with the EU R&D 
programmes are the main sources of funding for R&D in Greece. One of these programmes, the 
Operational Programme ''Competitiveness" 2000-2006 utilises European Social Fund and focuses on 
sectors which are expected to generate long-term gr owth for the Greek economy. One of the actions is 
devoted to "Health - Biomedical Research , Diagnostic & Therapeutics Procedures".  
The objective of this programme is to promot e collaborations between business enterprises and 
research entities with regard to long-term research and technological development projects, aiming at 
producing innovative products or services. The Progr amme supports both basic and industrial research 
in the areas of diagnosis, treatment, molecula r and pathogenetic mechan isms and biomedical 
technology. 21 projects are financed for an ove rall budget of € 11,9 million. Total project budget will 
range between € 587,000 and € 500,000, for a length up to 36 months.  
Greek Association for Alzheimer' s Disease and Relative Disorders 
The Greek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Relative Disorders92 is a non-profit organisation 
founded in 1995 by relatives of patients suffering from the Alzheimer Disease as well as by medical 
                                                 
91 http://www.gsrt.gr/default.asp?V_LANG_ID=2   
 
EN 25   EN professionals and other stakeholders. The associati on promotes scientific research as well as raises 
awareness on the need to incorpor ate best available therapies in to current clinical practice. 
Athens Association of Alzheim er’s Disease and Related Disorders 
The Athens Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders is a non-profit organisation 
founded in 2002 by dementia patients’ relatives, docto rs, psychologists and other relevant health care 
professionals. The Association aims at promoting aw areness, care and support for everyone in anyway 
related to the disease. In February 2009, the Asso ciation launched the “Greek Alzheimer’s Initiative”, 
a signature - collection campaign. This should be th e first step towards a national action plan against 
Alzheimer’s disease. 
Stavros Niarchos Foundation 
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation93, an international philanthropic organization, supports charitable 
activities in four primary areas: arts and culture, edu cation, health and medicine, and social welfare. 
The Foundation makes grants to not-for-profit organi zations throughout the world. Since its inception 
in 1996, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation has pr ovided total grant commitments of US$ 361,254,582 
(19% to health and medicine) with 1,647 grants  in 86 nations around the world to various not-for-
profit organizations. 
Since February 2007, a Dementia Day Centre for patients suffering from dementia and their families 
has opened in Athens. The Centre is supported by  both the European Social Funds and the Greek 
Ministry of Health, and managed under the respons ibility of the Athens Association of Alzheimer’s 
Disease and Related Disorders. Aims include trai ning, help and support of patients suffering from 
Dementia (cognitive training, physical exercise, occupational therapy, art therapy; education and 
support of carers; advocacy of patients’ and carers’ rights and needs; increase of public awareness.  
Institute of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry  (IOPC) 
Established in 1979 as the Centre for Organic Chemistry94 to pursue research in organic and 
organometallic chemistry, in 2003 the Institute in corporated research on structure-based drug design 
into its field of activities. Much of the Institu te’s research is focused on combating illnesses and 
conditions including multiple sclerosis  and neurodegenerative diseases.  
The Laboratory for Molecular Analysis (LMA) carri es on research in the rational design of novel 
drugs for illnesses like neurodegenerative diseases. It  recently received a € 1,125 million award for 
infrastructure on the “Design and Synthesis of Bioactive Molecules” programme by the Greek 
Ministry of Development, which will reinforce current  efforts in this area. Support research in this area 
such important research.  
IOPC has been awarded Excellence in Research on '' Novel strategies agains t neurodegeneration (2002-
2005) by the Greek General Secretariat of Research and Technology, and recently received a grant of € 1.125 million for infrastructure on ''Design and Synthesis of Bioactive Molecules'' (2005-2008) by the Greek Ministry of Development. 
EURODESY
95 is a European Research Training Site for the "Design and Synthesis of Novel 
Neuroprotective and Hypoglycaemic Agents". It focuses on the development of new agents for 
potential therapeutic interventi on in neurodegenerative diseases and type 2 diabetes mellitus.  
HUNGARY 
Hungarian Scientific Research Fund 
For the period 2002-2007 this ins titution supported 4 projects in the field of Alzheimer's disease for an 
overall amount of € 451 680. 
                                                                                                                                                         
92 http://www.greeceindex.com/gre ece-health/greece_health_volunta ry_alzheimer_institute.html  
93 http://www.snf.org/  
94 http://www.eie.gr/nhrf/in stitutes/iopc/index-en.html  
95 http://www.eie.gr/nhrf/institutes/iopc/e u-projects/eurodesy /overview-en.html  
 
EN 26   EN National Office for Research and Technology (NKTH) 
NKTH96 is responsible for implementing the government ’s science and technology policy. Its duties 
are to provide a new framework for the national innovation system and to promote research and 
development that will boost Hungarian economy. 
To create a predictable environment for the explo itation of R&D results, the Research and Technology 
Innovation Fund has been recently established. The Fund is managed by NKTH. The goal of NKTH is 
to provide sufficient funding for innovation programmes that aim to create innovative services and products.  Mecenatúra Calls (Part of the Albert Apponyi Programme) 
This programme aims at supporting individual inv estigators to present their results on Alzheimer's 
disease at national and international conferences.  
Széchenyi Action, National Research and Development Programmes   
The programme aims at supporting One project (A pplication of PET minicamera; additional aim to 
distinguish between Alzheimer and other diseases showing similar symptoms like AD) was supported 
with 200 000 000 Ft = 847 817 Euro (at the rate of 31/12/2002) in 2002 
Péter Pázmány Programme for Regional Knowledge Centres (RKC) 
The main goal of the Péter Pázmá ny Programme is to establish Regi onal Knowledge Centres (RKC) to 
exploit research and development results in close cooperation with the industrial sector. The task of 
the supported Knowledge Centres is to transfer R&D results to marketable new products and 
technologies.  
One of the supported centres is the Szeged Neurobiol ogical Knowledge Centre (DNT), which has been 
awarded a 1.7 billion Forints subsidy for 4 years, to establish amongst other a project the mechanisms 
underlying the development of neurodegenerative di sorders as well as the development of compounds 
with neuroprotective effects. 
Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences 
The scientific activity of the Institute of Experimental Medicine
97 is dedicated exclusively to 
biomedical research. The major focus of resear ch is on neurosciences including studies on 
mechanisms of synaptic and non- synaptic neuronal transmission, processes of learning and memory, 
central regulation reproduction, metabolism and st ress behaviour and neurodegenerative diseases, in 
particular Alzheimer's and their modelling.  
The Institute hosts the Neuroscience Department of the Pazmany Catholic University and runs a PhD 
programme in neurosciences with th e Semmelweis University. The Institu te is also coordinator of the 
EURO-EURO-NETWORK EU Centre of excellence. 
Semmelweis University 
Semmelweis University98 is the largest health care instituti on in Hungary. Major efforts of this 
institution are devoted to research on neurosciences.  
Current research activity of Semmelweis Univer sity in the field of neurosciences comprises 
anatomical, physiological, pharmacological, biochemi cal and behavioural approaches. Main topics of 
the research groups supported by standard funding of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences include – 
besides several others – studies on neural plasticity in the cerebellum, cortex and thalamus, functional 
anatomy and physiology of the vi sual cortex, computer simulation models of neural networks, 
neurotransmitter systems in the human brain, etc. Further research projects fu nded by the University 
and external grants deal with vestibular coordina tion, synaptic plasticity in relation to motivation, 
learning and memory, neural regeneration, function al neuroanatomy of the spinal cord and pain 
                                                 
96 http://www.nkth.gov.hu/english  
97 http://www.koki.hu/ma in.php?folderID=922  
98 http://www.sote.hu  
 
EN 27   EN mechanisms, infobionics, etc. Clinically oriented  research programs relevant to sleeping disorders, 
psychosomatic problems and psychotic conditions are also being carried out. 
.One of the most extensive platforms for neuroscien ce research at Semmelweis University is provided 
by the Szentágothai János Knowledge Centre99 which focuses on neuroscience and drug development. 
Recognised as a regional centre of excellence it co nsists of 14 research gr oups from Semmelweis 
University, the Institute of Experimental Medici ne of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and from 
the Faculty of Informational Technology of the P ázmány Péter Catholic University. Main research 
topics include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson disease, oxidative stress and neuroprotection and 
cognition. 
Other institutions working in the field of neurodege nerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer's include 
the University Medical School of Debrecen and the Medical School of Pécs University. 
ITALY 
Italy, through specific programs of the Ministry of Health100, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of 
Research101 has devoted in the last 10 years strong efforts to the area of Alzheimer's disease and other 
dementias promoting basic and applie d clinical research either by financing Universities and Clinical 
Research Institutes or by yearly calls for proposals under the helm of different institutional agencies 
including the Superior Institute of Health, The National Research Council (PRIN, FIRB, Progetti 
Strategici, Progetti Finalizzati, Progetti Ordinari, Prog etto Giovani) for an overall annual amount of € 
30 million. 
The Cronos Project was launched by the Ministry of Health in 2000. Endowed with a budget of € 40 
million Euro it allowed the setting-up of 500 Alzhei mer Evaluation Units with the specific aim of 
diagnosing and treating dementia. The initiative has a llowed to improve diagnos tic skills and to offer 
patients and caregivers a site for pharm acologic and non-pharmacologic treatment . 
In 2002, a Commission for the study of Alzheimer's disease was established by the Ministry of with 
the objective of developing a precise strategy for th e maintenance of residual health in demented 
people and promote interventions for the amelioration of health and quality of life of patients with 
Alzheimer's disease. Such Commission is still active as a Centre for the Development of Concerted 
and Integrated Actions directed to the Regions in order to rationalize and establish plans for the 
improvement of Health and Social Care of patients and caregivers. 
In 2008, the Ministry of Labour has sponsored a specific program under the helm of the Health 
Superior Institute (ISS) to provide for a state-of-the  art of the situation of the national network of care 
including the development of guidelines for the impl ementation of a National Program of Integrated 
Management of dementia.  
Italy is also endowed with several centres of excel lence in the field of neurodegenerative diseases field 
including the San Raffaele Institute of Milan, the Istituto Neurologico Besta of Milan, the Institute 
Mario Negri of Milan, the Istituto Sacro Cuore Fate benefratelli of Brescia, the Istituto Santa Lucia of 
Rome, the INRCA of Ancona, and the Neuromed Institute of Isernia.  
IRELAND 
Almost €100 million in age-related disease and care r esearch is currently supported in this country. 
This includes the following initiatives:  
- Trinity College Institute of Neurosciences (TCIN)102: launched in 2000, Ireland’s largest 
neurosciences institute, €28m government funding , plus Glaxo SmithKlein investment of €14.6 
million for Alzheimer’s. 
                                                 
99 http://www.nkth.gov.hu/english/regiona l-knowledge/szentagothai-janos-080519  
100 http://www.ministerosalute.it  
101 http://www.miur.it/DefaultDesktop.aspx  
102 http://www.tcd.ie/Neuroscience  
 
EN 28   EN - UCC Biosciences Institute103: built in 2002, its mission is to deepen the understanding of 
disease mechanisms, to develop new therapies, to explore linkages between food and health and to 
promote health through diet. € 4 million are devoted to the area of neurosciences. 
- University College Dublin104, Applied Neurotherapeutics group, which has received from the 
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) a € 7.7 million awar d together with the Neuroscience Discovery 
Group of Wyeth Research to support to support research into the treatment of illnesses that include Alzheimer’s Disease, schizophrenia, and depression. 
- The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing105 (TILDA): launched by the Ministry of Health in 
2006, to study a representative cohort of at least 8,000 Irish people over the age of 50 charting their 
health, social and economic circumstances over a 10-year period. 
The study is being carried out by Trinity College Dublin in collaboration with an inter-disciplinary 
panel of scientific researchers, with expertise in va rious fields of ageing, from Dundalk Institute of 
Technology (DKIT), Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), National University of Ireland 
Galway (NUIG), The Royal College of Surgeons in  Ireland (RCSI), University College Cork (UCC), 
University College Dublin (UCD) and Waterford  Institute of Technology (WIT). Funding was 
provided by Atlantic Philanthropies (€ 1.3 million) and Irish Life (€ 4 million). 
- Technology Research for Independent Living106 (TRIL): launched in 2007, and an 
academic/industry partnership the TRIL Centre is a coordinated collection of research projects 
addressing the physical, cognitive and social consequences  of ageing. The TRIL Centre’s mission is to 
discover and deliver technology solutions which support independent ageing, ideally in a home 
environment. Funding is provided by the company Intel and IDA (Investment  Ireland) for an overall 
value of € 25m over 3 years.  
- Health Research Board107 
This is the lead agency supporting and funding all areas of health research in Ireland. With 30 
Researcher-led projects and programmes there is  over € 13 million awards for neurodegenerative 
disease research. The research funded spans a broa d area of neurodegenerative disease, from palliative 
care to novel therapies. It also includes a fund of  € 4.2 million for a PhD programme hosted by TCIN 
addressed to training the future research generation. 
LATVIA 
The Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis108 was founded in 1957 as a unit of the Latvian Academy of 
Sciences. The Institute is involved in the fundame ntal studies in the field of organic chemistry, 
molecular biology and bio-organic chemistry. The other direction of  the Institute's work is drug 
research in view of potential medical and agricu ltural applications. The Institutes performs also 
clinical trials in areas such as Alzheimer's disease a nd vascular dementia. It also participates to the EU 
project DeZnIT. The main objectives of DeZnIT pr ogram are to develop new drug design technology 
specifically focused on the family of zinc metalloen zymes and to use this technology to identify new 
candidate drugs.  
LITHUANIA 
As part of the HAPPIEE study (Health, Alcohol a nd Psychosocial factors In Eastern Europe) funding 
by the WE) funded by the Wellcome Trust, Lithua nia is participating to a large cohort population 
screening (over 7000 people aged 45-72 years) which amongst other issues includes also the 
assessment of the cognitive functions. Screeni ng included blood sampling and DNA extraction.  
                                                 
103 http://bsi.ucc.ie  
104 http://www.ucd.ie/conway /research/integrativebiology/appl iedneurotherapeu ticsresearchgroup  
105 http://www.tilda.tcd.ie  
106 http://www.trilcentre.org  
107 http://www.hrb.ie/  
108 http://www.osi.lv/index.php?v=1&pos=1  
 
EN 29   EN The Lithuanian States Science and Studies Foundation is supporting since 2008 2 projects on the 
generation of novel methods for the early detection of  pathogenic oligomers of amyloid B in biological 
fluids (blood and cerebrospinal fluids). Lithua nia is also collaborating to the transnational 
collaborative effort "Kaunas Health Ageing Study: la te life mental health" (s tarted also 2008), aiming 
to determine the prevalence of dementia and depressi on and their related risk factors. Other partners 
include London King's College Institute of Psychiatry  and Oslo University College in Norway, who is 
coordinating these efforts.  
The University Clinics of Neurology at Vilnius an d Kaunas are also taking part in clinical studies 
aimed at designing and validating a n ovel battery of cognitive testing.  
LUXEMBOURG 
The programme PROVIE109 (Research into the medical aspects of ageing) programme is one of the 
multi-annual programmes of the National Research Fund110 (NRF) which supports public research. 
Its purpose is to study the epidemiological, psychosocial and biological aspects of the 
neurodegenerative diseases of old age in Luxembour g and view them against the broader European 
canvas. The objectives of the programme are: 1) to improve the skills of the biomedical community in 
Luxembourg and the transfer of knowledge concerning pathologies linked to ageing of the brain; 2) to 
correlate medical, epidemiological, psychosocial and biological aspects; 3) to improve the prevention 
of cerebrovascular accidents (strokes); 4) to acquire innovative detection methods for 
neurodegenerative diseases and other diseases in the elderly.  
Research areas addressed include: basic research and technology transfer, study of the risk or 
protection factors, primary and secondary prevention and clinical and epidemio logical aspects of these 
diseases.  
MALTA 
Malta Dementia Society  - The Malta Dementia Society111 was established in September 2004 and is 
affiliated to Alzheimer Europe. It aims are to encourage and promote the best methods of care, 
education and treatment of persons  with dementia and related di sorders generally throughout the 
Maltese islands and elsewhere as well as to prov ide and furnish support, help, assistance and 
information to the families, relatives and friends of persons with dementia and related disorders. They 
are also in charge of training of caring personnel as well as to promote fund raising  
Zammit Clapp Hospital - An autonomous publicly funded hospital specializing in Geriatric Medicine 
under the responsibility of the Hospital Manage ment Committee and the Foundation for Medical 
Services, The Zammit Hospital112 strives to provide a service of ex cellence according to each patient’s 
medical condition and needs, regarding assessment, management and general rehabilitation, through 
an interdisciplinary approach. It is endowed with  on-going in-patient, out-patient and Day Hospital 
services of acute and rehabilitative nature. The hospita l plays an important role in the comprehensive 
system of care for the elderly in the country  
The University of Malta, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery113 supports also research on the 
neuropharmacology and neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease. 
Malta Council for Science and Technology  - The National Research and Innovation (R&I) 
Programme114 2008 is a funding programme for research and innovation projects in the fields of 
science and technology and will be managed and administered by the Malta Council of Science and 
Technology. Applications are called in 4 main ar eas: ICT, Environment and Energy, Health and 
                                                 
109 http://www.fnr.lu/SIML_FNR/Channe l/FNRen.nsf/fs_R oot?OpenFrameset  
110 http://www.innovation.public.lu/ html/portal/EN/81/85/99/C50/  
111 http://www.maltadementiasociety.org.mt/  
112 http://www.sahha.gov.mt/pages.aspx?page=15  
113 http://www.um.edu.mt/  
114 h ttp://www.mcst.org.mt/  
 
EN 30   EN Biotech and Manufacturing. One of the seven proj ects supported this year aims at identifying 
neuroprotectants from marine and terrestrial plan t extracts in neurodegenerative disorders of the 
amyloid type115.  
NORWAY 
In Norway, research on neurodegenerative diseases, in  particular Alzheimer’s disease is significantly 
funded by the Research Council of Norway116 and performed in universities and Centres of 
Excellence. Projects in this area can be supported through the Council’s Independent Basic Research 
Projects (researcher initiated) - Biology and biomedic ine (FRIBIO) programme, as well as a specific 
Clinical Research programme which aims at suppor ting large clinical trials  and covers, among other 
subjects, geriatrics.  
A major performer in this area is the Center for th e Biology of Memory (CBM), which is part of the 
Centre of Excellence scheme of the Norwegian Re search Council and closely linked with the Kavli 
Institute for Systems Neurosciences117 in the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The 
scientific goal of the CBM is to understand the biological processes behind memory with the view, 
among other objectives, to determine how a disruption of the processes may lead to various forms of 
neurological disease or psychopathology.  
Another important actor is the Centre for Molecular Biology and Neurosciences118 (CMBN) of Oslo 
University, another Council’s Centre of Excellen ce. In order to exploit the ideas developed in 
conjunction with this CoE project, it signed a lette r of intention with GlaxoSmithKline and other 
investors groups. Teams are also worki ng on these topics in the Rikshospitalet119, Oslo, and the 
Akershus University Hospital120.  
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson diseases, as well as epile psy, are studied in the Nordic Centre of 
Excellence in Neurodegeneration, a Nordic Network funded, among other contributors, by the Nordic 
Medical Research Councils, which is co-coordinated by the Wallenberg Neuroscience Centre at Lund 
University and comprises 12 teams from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway.  
Dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease) a nd Parkinson’s disease is also subject of the 
“TrønderBrain” Survey implemented by the Norw egian University of Science and Technology121 in 
the Trøndelag region. The Research Council of Norway supported the establishment of this project in 
2003 through the Age Research Programme, and currently supports it through the NevroNor 
programme. The project “TrønderBrain” is coope ration between several research groups at the 
University Hospital of Trondheim (St. Olav's Ho spital) and the Departme nt of Neuroscience, 
Norwegian University of Science and Technology.  Because the population in the counties of North 
and South Trøndelag of central Norway has been re latively stable over several centuries, this will 
hopefully make it easier to identify inherited factors that contribute to the development of various 
forms of dementia and other pr ogressive, neurodegenerative diseases. 
The University Hospital of No rth Norway and the Norwegia n Foundation for Health and 
Rehabilitation implement "The Dement ia Study" in Northern Norway, a Clinical Trial with donepezil 
superimposed on a non-medical intervention with cogn itive and social stimulation therapy in rural 
community medical practice.  
                                                 
115 http://www.mcst.gov.mt/files/uploade d/R&I-2008-068-NeuroAmyloid.pdf  
116 http://www.forskningsradet.no/servlet/Sat ellite?c=Page&cid=1177315753906&p=1177315753906&pagenam   
117 http://www.ntnu.no/cbm/  
118 http://www.cmbn.no/  
119 http://www.rikshospitalet.no/ikbViewer/pa ge/no/pages/hygiene/ english?p_dim_id=32373  
120 http://www.med.uio.no/ahus/english/  
121 http://www.ntnu.no/dmf/research  
 
EN 31   EN POLAND 
NENCKI Institute of Experimental Biology 
One of the main five Departments of this reputed Institute, the Department of Molecular and Cellular 
Biology122 is involved in research on neurodegenerative diseases. This includes the areas of signal 
transduction processes leading to cell proliferation and differentiation; neural plasticity; learning and 
memory formation as well as neurodegeneration;  regeneration, plasticity and ageing.  
The Institute also participates to several EU projects includi ng AXREGEN (Axonal regeneration, 
plasticity and stem cells, Marie Curie Initial Tr aining Network); MARK-AGE (European study to 
establish Biomarkers of Human Ageing); MEMSTICK  (Synaptic mechanisms of memory loss: novel 
cell adhesion molecules as therapeutic targets) PLASTICISE (Promotion of plasticity as a treatment of 
degenerative conditions). 
Institute of Pharmacology 
Part of the Polish Academy of Sciences,  the Institute of Pharmacology (IF)123, through its center of 
excellence on neuro- and psychopharmacology, devotes particular efforts to the area of 
neurodegeneration research. The areas covered include r esearch on the role of neurotransmitters in 
neurodegenerative diseases' development, the estab lishment of animal models for these diseases as 
well as the role of neurotoxic substances on the development of neurodegeneration.  
International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology 
The International Institute of Molecular a nd Cell Biology, through its Laboratory of 
Neurodegeneration124 is studying the molecular mechanisms involved in learning and memory, as well 
as in neurodegeneration. Major efforts are being devoted to the identification of mutations in 
Alzheimer's disease and the search for biomarkers a nd therapeutic targets for this disease and related 
disorders.  
Mossakowski Medical Research Centre Polish Academy of Sciences 
The Mossakowski Medical Research Centre of th e Polish Academy of Sciences is focused on 
fundamental and clinical research in the areas of neurophysiology, neuroimmunology, neurochemistry, 
neuropathology, neurology, neurosur gery, experimental transplantology, endocrinology and cellular 
biology. Research on neurodegenerative disorders is one of the key areas of investment. 
PORTUGAL 
Alzheimer Portugal 
Alzheimer Portugal125 is a non-profit organization established in 1988. It provides awareness, 
information and research, support and advocate for people with dementia and caregivers and at 
creating models of care.  
Centre for Neurosciences and Cell biology 
The Centre of Neurosciences and Cell Biology126 at the Coimbra University is part of the Network of 
European Neuroscience Institutes (E NI). The CNC is also involved in collaborations between the 
Portuguese government and the Massachusetts Ins titute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Medical 
School (HMS). Neurosciences and disease127 , and in particular neurode generative diseases, is one of 
its six areas of investment. Specific areas tackled include: mitochondrial dysfunction, neuronal death 
and neuroprotection, m echanisms of disease(s) and brain repair.  
                                                 
122 http://www.nencki.gov.pl/e n/working_groups/index.html  
123 http://www.if-pan.krakow.p l/ifpan/dept/npsych.html  
124 http://www.iimcb.gov. pl/kuznicki_lab.php  
125 http://www.alzheimerpor tugal.org/clientSite/  
126 http://www.cnbc.pt/  
127 http://www.cnbc.pt/res earch/research01.asp  
 
EN 32   EN The Institute participates also to two Biomedi cal Inter-Institutional Research Programme (CNC, HUC, 
CHC, IPO) on "Neurology research: studies on neurod egenerative disorders" and "DNA investigation 
in Neurodegenerative Disorders" 
Champalimaud Foundation Neuroscience Programme  
Starting in 2007, the Champalim aud Foundation of the Gulbe nkian Institute for Science128 specifically 
supports a research programme in Neurosciences, aime d at unraveling the neural basis of behavior. 
The program is embodied to several research groups, working in close interaction with the broad-based research biology and biomedicine conducted at the IGC. 
Instituto de Medicina Molecular 
Located in the campus of Lisbon Medical Sc hool, the Instituto de Medicina Molecular129 (IMM), 
established in 2001, is an Associate Laboratory of  the Portuguese National Ministry of Science, 
Technology and Higher Education (MCTES). Neurosciences research is one of its key areas of 
investment. The Cellular and Molecular Neuro sciences Unit focused on the understanding of the 
molecular mechanisms which lead to neurodegenera tion in diseases such as Parkinson's, Huntington's, 
or Alzheimer's disease. 
The Dementia Research Group of the Clinical Neurol ogy Research Unit is particularly interested in 
the clinical, neuropsychological and imaging characterization of the initial phases of AD. The Clinical Neuropharmacology Group aims to contribute to th e development of effective and safe therapeutic 
interventions for neurodegenerative diseases thr ough the establishment of optimised methodologies 
and infrastructures for the assessment of the clin ical impact of these measures. The Genomics of 
Complex Disease laboratory focuses on understanding the genetic architecture of complex diseases 
such as Parkinson's disease.  
ROMANIA 
The Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research ( ANCS)
130 - Ministry of Education and 
Research- is the major source of financing resear ch projects by the National Plan for Research, 
Development and Innovation. 
The VIASAN- Life and Health  research programme promotes and sustains the basic, strategic and 
applied research for understanding the pathological mechanisms, treatment and prevention of diseases 
with a great impact in the population, for the harmonisation of best quality care, and for increasing the level of health in Romania. 
Neurosciences  is one of the areas of investment within the VIASAN programme and addresses, 
amongst others, the study of the cellular mechanis ms of neurodegenerative diseases, the molecular 
mechanisms involved in cellula r senescence and degeneration..  
CEEX  is a national program for excellence in research, accorded by the same national organisms.  
The National Council for Scientific Research  (CNCSI)
131 is also national funding agency, targeting 
neurosciences research. 
National Neuroscience Society  of Romania and the Centre for Excellence in Neuroscience  "Carol 
Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest   
The project "The development of a European Netw ork for the investigation of interneuronal and 
neuroglial relations in energetic stress, ne urodegenerative diseases and ageing, aiming the 
development of new therapeutic strategies" in collaboration with European partners from UK and 
Germany was financed by the CEEX  program of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research. 
Other basic and clinical neurological research projects are financed by VIASAN  program. 
                                                 
128 http://www.igc.gulbenkian.pt/  
129 http://www.imm.ul .pt/indexi.html  
130 http://www.ancs.ro/  
131 http://www.cncsis.ro/index.php  
 
EN 33   EN National Institute of GERONTOLOGY and GERIATRY ‘ANA ASLAN’ 
Within the National Plan for Research, Developm ent and Innovation, the Institute is performing 
fundamental and applicative research, under the c oordination of the Academy for Medical Sciences, 
within the field of ageing pathology. 
"The Day Hospital for the Diagnosis and Treatment  of Memory Impairments" was founded by the 
“Ana Aslan” International A cademy of Ageing in Romania. This study, which actively screened for 
MCI patients using international cr iteria for diagnosis, is the first descriptive study in East-European 
countries on MCI.  
Alzheimer Romania132 is a member  of the international associations Alzheimer's Groups European 
Organisations and Making Demen tia a Public Health priority. 
In 2006, and with the support of Pfizer, Alzheime r Romania organized the campaign “Don't forget 
those who forget”. The role of this campaign was to inform and educate Romanian people regarding 
problems concerning Alzheimer's disease and to incr ease the trust of people into specialized medical 
consultation. Novartis Pharma  supported a project for helping fa milies of patients affected by 
Alzheimer's disease.  
Hoffman- La Roche initializes in 2009 a  clinical trial:" A dose-ranging, randomized, double-blind, 
placebo-controlled study of the effect of RO5313 534, used as add-on therapy to donepezil, on 
cognitive function in patients with mild to moderate symptoms of Alzheimer's disease".  
SOCODOR Center for Research and Treatment of Alzheimer Disease is the first center created in 
Romania in 2009 with an investment of 5 million eu ro. It will be supported by the collaboration with 
Hungarian and Canadian partners and also by the Ro manian Ministry of Health which will finance the 
expensive treatment of the patients. 
CONEURAL Centre for Cogn itive and Neural Studies133 focuses on three main research directions: 
recording and analysis of electrophysiological data, development of advanced tools for data analysis 
and modelling of neuronal processes, issues ranging from mechanistic levels, of rhythm generation, up 
to the level of human cognition. 
Two scientific projects are financed by CNCSI  – Romanian National Council for Scientific Research. 
Another project intended to strengthen the collaborat ion between Coneural and Max Planck Institute 
for Brain Research in Frankfurt (MPI), establis hed a direct and close collaboration with the 
Neurophysiology Department of the MPI. There are numerous projects ongoing that will include the 
study of temporal structure in neuronal activit y, funded by Max Plank Society from Germany.  
SLOVAKIA  
Slovakia has a national comprehensive Alzheimer's disease network constituted by the Institute of 
Neuroimmunology134 of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Slovak Alzheimer's society, the 
MEMORY Foundation135 and the MEMORY Centre-Psychiatric Ambulatory Care Centre136. 
The Institute of Neuroimmunology was establis hed in 1996 with support from the MEMORY 
Foundation. The Institute studies neuroscience at various  levels, from a) molecular level, to b) cellular 
level, to c) systems level up to d) cognitive le vel and uses its observations and findings for searching 
the underlying causes of neurodegenerative diseases  with focus on Alzheimer’s disease and related 
neurodegenerative disorders (tauopathi es) and prion diseases. The Institute is coordinator of the Centre 
of Excellence for Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.  
                                                 
132 http://www.alz.ro/  
133 http://www.coneural.org/  
134 http://www.niu.sav.sk/index.php?id=33&lang=en  
135 http://www.alzheimer.sk/  
136 http://www.alzheimer.sk/  
 
EN 34   EN It is responsible for the genetic analysis of pa tients with early onset forms of Alzheimer disease, 
manages the Slovak Brain Bank and is the national reference laboratory for Transmissible Spongiform 
Encephalopathies (TSE). 
The MEMORY Centre – Alzheimer Di agnostic Centre is a fully integrated platform for Alzheimer's 
disease patients and their relatives. The Centre contai ns also a Psychiatric Ambulatory Cancer Centre, 
opened in 2002 by the MEMORY Foundation is a specia lised facility for the prevention, diagnosis and 
education for AD. 
SLOVENIA 
Forget-me-not 
"Forget-me-not137", the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association of Slovenia , 
established in 1997, is a non-governmental organisa tion aimed at raising awareness of all forms of 
dementia and other mental disorders encountered in  old age. Its goals include organising support for 
caregivers, promoting training of staff, developing a network of medical practitioners interested in 
mental health of the elderly, encouraging furthe r knowledge development in  this area, cooperating 
with similar foreign organisations.  
University medical centre Ljubljana 
The University Medical Centre Ljubljana138 (UMC) is a public health care institution providing 
medical services at the secondary and tertiary leve l. The UMC is the leading medical institution in 
Slovenia and one of the largest hospitals in central Europe. As the main training base for the Faculty of 
Medicine in Ljubljana, the UMC effectively combin es clinical work with education and research. The 
Department of Neurology is a teaching, research orie nted clinical hospital located in Ljubljana and one 
of the largest centre dedicated to improving neurological health in the country. 
Jozef Stefan Institute 
The Department of Biochemistry139 of the Jozef Stefan Institute pe rforms substantial research in the 
area of proteases and their role in neurodegenera tive disorders, as well as in the development of 
amyloid fibres and their role in neurodegenerative disorders. 
Ad-Futura – Science and education Foundation 
The Ad-Futura140 foundation encourages networking among people involved in education and 
research, and by providing financial support e nhances the mobility of knowledge, ideas and people 
within the society. The foundation allocates its fina ncial support to extraordinary researchers, faculty 
and secondary school students from abroad for the pur pose of education and research in Slovenia. Part 
of the funds is also available to Slovene citi zens for the purpose of acquiring additional knowledge 
abroad. In 2005, the Foundation granted 360 scholarships.  
SYNAPSA 
SYNAPSA141, the Slovenian Neurosciences association is  responsible for adva ncing neurosciences 
knowledge in Slovenia. It facilitates multidisciplin arity and cooperation with  similar national and 
international organizations. It organises each 2 y ears an international conference around a specific 
theme. The 2009 conference will address memory.  
                                                 
137 http://www.ljudmila.o rg/~zzppd/adrda.htm  
138 http://www3.kclj.si/ang/index.php  
139 http://bio.ijs.si/prot/prot_en/index.htm  
140 http://quark-magazine.com /pdf/quark07/114ADFUTURA.pdf  
141 http://www.sinapsa. org/en/mission.php  
 
EN 35   EN National Research and Development Programme (NRDP) 
The current NDRP programme142 (2006-2010) gives a special emphasis to technical natural sciences 
and biomedical research. It di fferent areas are implemented through the Slovenian Research 
Agency143. For the period 2004-2008, Slovenia has devoted 72,3 and 73 full-time equivalents (FTE) to 
medical and biotechnological sciences, respectively.  
SPAIN 
Spain has established in 2007 the Network of Bi omedical Research on Neurodegenerative Disease144 
(CIBERNED) under the initiative of th e Insituto de Salud Carlos III145 (ISCIII). 62 research groups 
belonging to Spanish Science and Technology Sy stem (universities, hospitals, public research 
organisms). Financial support was of € 8 million in 2007. 
The areas of research include: the molecular pathology of Alzheimer (mechanisms of 
neurodegeneration, neuroprotection and new therapie s in AD); diagnosis, treatment and prevention of 
dementias (genetic epidemiology, animal and cell models in AD); cell therapy in Parkinson disease; 
neural circuits in Parkinson; ne uromuscular pathologies; molecular pathology of Huntington disease. 
The Network of Biomedical Research on Mental Health146 (CIBERSAM) was also established by the 
ISCIII in 2008 and endowed with a financial supp ort of € 3,4 million for the 2008 fiscal year. It 
includes 25 research groups and addresses research  areas such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar 
disorders and other disorders. It also has a Brain Bank Platform in psychiatric diseases. 
The Health Research Funding Agency147 (FIS), managed by ISCIII, has supported over 36 projects on 
Alzheimer disease and other dementi as in the past 4 years with an overall budget of €3.8 million. 
The Ministry of Science and Innovation148 has supported 21 Research projects on Alzheimer and 
related dementias in the period 2007-2009.  Overall budget is of € 2.8 million. 
The ISCIII’S CIEN FOUNDATION (Centre for Research on Neurological Diseases): provides € 0.7 
million/ year and the Queen Sofia FOUNDATION provides € 0.5 million/ year to support the 
Alzheimer's Disease Project149 at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit (UIPA) of the Foundation. 
Areas and facilities supported include medical assist ance, coordination of research programmes, brain 
banking, and imaging platform. Priority lines for 2006-2010 are: research on early diagnosis of AD – 
MRI, biomarkers, molecular and cell biology in AD – β-amyloid peptide, tau; ageing and risk factors 
for AD; translational research in AD; assignment of resources and quality of care for AD patients  
Up to € 2,5 million/year is devoted to neurodege nerative disorders research through regional funds. 
SWEDEN 
Swedish Brain Power  
Brain Power150 is a programme issued in 2005 that entails co-operation between the Invest in Sweden 
Agency, the Knowledge Foundation, the Swedish Foundation for Healthcare Sciences and Allergy 
Research (the Vårdal Foundation), the Swedish Foun dation for Strategic Research, the Knut and Alice 
Wallenberg Foundation and VINNOVA. The programme aims to develop a new holistic concept for 
integration and co-operation within a number of R& D areas that are important to the diagnosis and 
treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. This nationa l consortium is led by the Karolinska Institute 
                                                 
142 http://www.sycp.si/sycp/Policy_Overview_RTD.wlgt  
143 http://www.arrs.gov.s i/en/dobrodoslica.asp  
144 http://www.ciberned.es/default-en.aspx  
145 http://www.isciii.es/htdocs/en/index.jsp  
146 http://www.cibersam.es/opencms /opencms/cibersam/?idioma=en  
147 http://www.isciii.es/htdocs/en/investig acion/investigaci on_presentacion.jsp  
148 http://web.micinn. es/contenido.asp?menu1=1&menu2=1&dir=01 _Portada/01-Ministerio/01-Ministra  
149 http://www.fundacioncien.es/ponencias /Research%20Unit%20for%20AD%20-PMM.pdf  
150 http://www.swedishbrainpower.se/eng/index.htm  
 
EN 36   EN and was allocated SEK 100 million over 5 years. It includes 50 ongoing research projects and 80 
researchers . The programme is now undergoing  its mid term evaluation.  
The Swedish Dementia Registry, Svedem 
Svedem151 was started by the initiative of Swedish Brain Power. It now holds basic data about over 
4.000 dementia patients around Sweden. 61 care units have become members of Svedem, 21 of those 
are health care centres and one is a municipality. 
Svedem is a national quality registry on the demen tia care in Sweden. The aim is to develop the 
dementia care and create a more even care quality over the country. 
Stockholm Brain Institute 
Established in 2007, the Stockholm Brain Institute  is a consortium for Cognitive and Computational 
Neuroscience, joining three leading Swedish Univer sities; Karolinska Institutet, Royal Institute of 
Technology and Stockholm University, gathering 80 scientists and 11 research groups. SBI has been 
granted 100 million Swedish Crowns from VINNOVA and the Swedish Research Council. Matching 
funds are expected from collaboration with industry. 
Areas tackled include: 1) to integrate expertise in  cognitive, computational, and neural sciences in 
order to understand the human brain from genes to  behaviour, 2) to explore the neurobiological 
processes leading to cognitive dysf unctions in several brain disorders such as Alzheimer's and 3) to 
develop biomarkers to detect and monitor the pathological processes underlying these disorders, as 
well as to develop new principles for prevention and intervention. 
Karolinska Institute 
The Karolinska Institute provides a comprehensive e ffort in the field of neurosciences, through its 
Departments of Neurosciences, cell and molecular biology, physiology and pharmacology and clinical 
neurosciences. 
The Department of Neurosciences152 incorporates research groups dealing with different aspects of the 
function of the nervous system, both under nor mal conditions and during different diseases. 
Alzheimer's diseases and dementia is also one of the 8 specific areas addressed by the Department. 
Basic research carried out is aimed at understanding  the functional role of various neurotransmitters 
and neuropeptides, the ionic and biochemical me chanisms involved and the molecular basis of 
transmitter release. Extensive research  is also carried out on the regulation of nerve cell growth and 
factors involved in neuronal regeneration and dege neration, and which are important in conditions 
such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.  Karolinska Institute also conducts more clinically 
orientated research into specific diseases, su ch as Parkinson's disease, psychiatric diseases 
The Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society153 (NVS) is responsible for one third of 
KI's clinical neuroscience research with a focus on dementia and intellectual failure for other reasons.  
University of Lund 
NeuroLund154 is a scientific platform established at the University of Lund focusing on the brain and 
its related diseases. The goal is to develop ne w treatments for diseases such as Parkinson's, 
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, brain damages afte r stroke and depression. Neuroprotection, cell 
replacement and gene therapy approaches for these diseases are amongst the expected outcomes.  
NeuroFortis at the Wallenberg Neuroscience Centre155 is a joint effort between four research teams in 
the field of brain damage and repair. The progr am explores novel mechanisms of neurodegeneration 
                                                 
151 http://www.ucr.uu.se/svedem/  
152 http://ki.se/ki/jsp/ polopoly.jsp?d=21984&l=en  
153 http://ki.se/ki/jsp/polopoly. jsp?d=5528&l=en&fromnode=5478  
154 http://www.med.lu.se/neurolund  
155 http://www.med.lu.se/neurofortis  
 
EN 37   EN and maladaptive plasticity in animal models of neurodegenerative disease or ischemic brain injury, 
and aims at devising novel treatment strategies based on disease intervention, cell replacement and 
functional restoration.  
SWITZERLAND 
There are several layers of funding provided by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)156 in 
support of research on neurodegenerative disorders.  This includes supporting investigation-initiator 
projects but also providing support through target ed programmes such as the National Targeted 
programme on "stems cells and regenerative medicine" or the network of National Competence 
Centres in Research.  
NCCR Neuro: Neural Plasticity and Repair  
The NCCR Neural Plasticity and Repair programme157 (2001-2012), is managed by the University of 
Zurich in collaboration with ETH Zurich and part of a large-scale research initiative of the Swiss 
National Science Foundation aiming at establishing and funding a national network of National 
Competence Centres in Research. It consists of 8 main programmes, one of them addressing specifically Alzheimer's disease 
The focus of its research is on the restoration of  function after damage or disease of the nervous 
system. The NCCR will elucidate the basic cellula r and molecular mechanisms of regeneration, 
plasticity and functional repair of the damaged nervous system. Using animal models as an 
intermediate step, novel approaches for therapies of  human diseases will be developed with emphasis, 
amongst others, on Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis.  
Neuroscience Centre Zurich 
The Neuroscience Centre of Zurich158 (ZNZ) is a joint competence centre of ETH and University of 
Zurich. About 100 basic, clinical and applied research groups cover the entire spectrum of 
neuroscience ranging from molecular and cellular pr ocesses in the brain over physiology and diseases 
of the nervous system to computational modelli ng and psychology. The areas addressed include, for 
instance, research on ageing and disorders of the nervous system, molecular and cellular neuroscience, 
development and regeneration. Research on neurodegenerative disorders is comprehensively 
addressed through many angles. 
National Research Programme on stem cells and regenerative medicine 
Part of the National Research Programmes for ta rgeted research of the Swiss National Science 
Foundation this programme starting January 2009 aims at giving a boost to basic research on stem 
cells and regenerative medicine, in particular  areas such as Parkinson's disease and other 
neurodegenerative disorders. The overall fi nancial support will be of CHF 10 million 
for 5 years.  
Many private Swiss foundations, including the Roche and Novartis foundations fund applications for 
Alzheimer disease–related projects. Swiss academic r esearchers are also financially supported by their 
home institutions, the cantonal universities and the two Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and 
Lausanne. To support the transfer of knowledge betw een businesses and universities, and to foster the 
translation of innovative research into product de velopment, the Swiss Confederation's innovation-
promoting agency supports research and developm ent programs jointly done by universities, young 
entrepreneurs and industry. 
In addition, many start-up and biotechnology comp anies including Cytos, Esbatech, AC Immune and 
The Genetics Company are involved in developing diagnostics and therapeutics for Alzheimer disease. 
                                                 
156 http://www.snf.ch/E/P ages/default.aspx  
157 http://www.nccr-neuro .uzh.ch/description  
158 http://www.neuroscience.ethz.ch/  
 
EN 38   EN THE NETHERLANDS 
National Dementia Programme – LeARN 
The Dutch Alzheimer Association EINDE159 has made huge strides in helping to implement a 
National Dementia Programme, to wh ich it contributed with an overa ll support of € 2.8 million for the 
period 2004-2009. In 2002, the Ministry of Health , Welfare and Sport asked the association and the 
Netherlands Institute for Health and Welfare to de velop a nationwide programme to improve dementia 
care from a client perspective. Now, improvement  teams are in operation in 58 regions across the 
country, and families themselves have been invo lved in coming up with priorities for local 
improvement plans. 
The Centre for Translational Molecular Medicine160 (CTMM) is dedicated to the development of 
medical technologies that enable the design of new and "personalized" treatme nts for the main causes 
of mortality and diminished quality of life, amongst them neurodegenerative diseases. It is a public-private partnership that comprises a multidisciplinar y group of parties – unive rsities, academic medical 
centres, medical technology enterprises and chemical and pharmaceutical companies 
The LeARN project161, "In vivo molecular diagnostics in Alzh eimer's disease", aims at developing 
new instruments with which to make an earlier and more reliable diagnosis of AD during life and 
create the conditions for an effective evaluation of novel medication therapies of AD patients. Overall 
funding is € 8 million for the period 2008 – 2012. Coordination is ensured by Leiden University 
Medical Centre. 
This will be achieved by developing: 1) new imag ing techniques that will use ultra-sensitive MRI and 
PET to visualize ‘senile plaques’ in the brains of AD patients, 2) new technologies that allow 
visualization of glutamate neurotransmitter molecu les as well as the receptors to which glutamate 
molecules bind and 3) novel technologies that allo w for the identification and quantification of 
biomarkers for AD in cerebrospinal fluid. The pr oject will also study the mechanism of action of 
potential novel drugs through the development of essential biomarkers. In addition, the diagnostic 
tools listed above will be tested for their (additiona l) value in the diagnostic process of AD patients 
Pearlstring 
String-of-pearls is a joint infrastructure to collect and access the patient data and biomaterials of at 
least eight patient categories, one of them being dementia. The consortium is composed of the eight 
University Medical Centres (UMC's), joined in th e Dutch Federation of University Medical Centres 
(NFU), which provide most tertiary care in The Netherlands. The programme on dementia and 
neurodegenerative disorders, Pearstring162, which is mainly focussing on establishing a bio banking 
infrastructure for AD is endowed with an overall budget of € 8 million for the 2008 – 2012 period.  
Top Institute Pharma 
Founded in 2006, TI Pharma163 is a collaborative structure cons isting of industrial and academic 
research teams. TI Pharma conducts cross-disciplin ary research and trains their personnel in improving 
the efficiency of the entire drug discovery and development process.  
TI Pharma is conducting a project on "Parkinson’s  disease and Alzheimer’s disease: from disordered 
human brain targets to novel therapeutics". The objec tives of this project are the identification and 
validation of potential drug targets, the provision of  novel cell and animal models as well as clinically 
validated biomarkers directly rele vant for development of early dia gnosis and treatment of Parkinson’s 
disease and Alzheimer’s disease. The initiative is suppor ted for an overall value of € 6 million for the 
period 2008 – 2011. 
                                                 
159 http://www.dement ieprogramma.nl/  
160 http://www.ctmm.nl/pr o1/general/home.asp  
161 http://www.ctmm.nl/pro1/general/sta rt.asp?i=4&j=1&k=0&p=0&itemid=73  
162 http://www.parelsnoer.org/ page/De-Parels/Neurodege neratieve-hersenziekten  
163 http://www.tipharma.com/ pro1/general/home.asp  
 
EN 39   EN The consortium consists of the partners DNage  BV, Erasmus MC (University Medical Centre 
Rotterdam), Leiden University Medical Centre, the Netherlands Brain Bank, the Netherlands Institute 
for Neuroscience, Solvay Pharmaceu ticals, the University Medical Cent re Utrecht, Utrecht University, 
VU University Amsterdam and the VU University Medical Centre. 
Dutch funding for Alzheimer's related research  includes the following additional projects and 
initiatives:  
- Neuro-Bsik Mouse Phenomics164, which address research on mouse models of neurological 
disorders (€ 13,1 million, 2003-2009)  
- Brain and Cognition165, focused on cognition research (€ 7,5 million, 2008-2011) 
- Netherlands Consortium for H ealth Ageing - Genomics Initiative166, addressing genes in 
healthy ageing (€ 12,5 million, 2008-2012) 
- National Programme on Care for the elderly167, addressing the improvement of care in elderly 
populations (€ 80 million, 2008-2011) 
- Priority Medicines for the elderly, focused on drugs for older elder population. 
UNITED KINGDOM 
Neurodegenerative diseases research in itiatives in the United Kingdom include: 
National Dementia Strategy – developed by the De partment of Health168 and addressing 3 key 
themes:  
- Raising awareness  - Early diagnosis and intervention  - Improving quality of care  
MRC Strategic Review of Neurodegeneration
169 – published in 2008, the review formulated 
strategic advice to the MRC on:  
- Changes in health need  
- New scientific opportunities  - The most important research and training questions that the MRC/UK could address. The 
report made three central recommendations: to stre ngthen biological research into disease origins and 
mechanisms, to improve training a nd critical mass, to provide support for a strategic co-ordinated 
network that would address the key barriers to progress in the field.  
MRC/Wellcome Trust Call in Neurodegeneration  
In October 2008 WT/MRC
170 launched a £30M joint call focussed on advancing the understanding of 
biological processes underpinning  neurodegenerative diseases. The aims of the call were to:  
- Create consortia comprising leading UK groups, wh ich could include international researchers 
and pharma  
- Facilitate the use of interdisciplinary approach es to address key gaps in our knowledge of the 
biological basis of neurodegenerative diseases  
                                                 
164 www.neurobsik.nl  
165 http://www.nwo.nl/nwohom e.nsf/pages/NWOA_7BBK4H  
166 http://www.genomics.nl/Geno micsCentres/Health/NCHA.aspx  
167 http://www.nationaalprogrammaouderenzorg.nl/  
168 http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm  
169 http://www.mrc.ac.uk/U tilities/Documen trecord/index.htm?d=MRC004898  
170 http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Fund ing/Biomedical-science/Grant s/Other-initiativ es/WTX050533.htm  
 
EN 40   EN - Catalyse the development of new approach es for effective diagnosis and therapeutic 
interventions  
Dementias and Neurodegenerative Di seases research Network (DeNDRoN) 
The DeNDRoN171 network was established in September 2005 as part of the UK Clinical Research 
Network, with the objective to facilitate clinical trials and research through enhancing NHS research 
infrastructure and increase collaborative working be tween academics, clinicians, patients, carers and 
research funders.  
It builds on strengths already present in the UK as we ll as increasing general capacity in the field of 
neurodegeneration.  
Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Initiative (LLHW) 
LLHW172 is a cross-council programme which was pa rt of the UK Research Councils’ ongoing 
commitment to support ageing-related research. Th is programme encompasses research that addresses 
health and wellbeing throughout the whole life course 
The aims of LLHW are: - Targeting factors that may be major determin ants of health and well being in later life  
- Identifying and developing  effective interventions 
- Informing policy and practice including the development of services and technologies to 
support independent living 
- Establishing and strengthening multi-disci plinary teams to drive innovative research   
New UK Strategy for Brain Banking 
Led by the Medical Research Council for the UKCRC  
Key recommendations: UK brain banking activity shoul d be organised into a network that has a 
central coordination centre; Brain Banks UK that is  independently constituted and funded. There is a 
proactive strategy to collect controls through th e medico-legal system – call for existing banks to 
expand activity 
Main aims: 
- Facilitate sharing of brain tissue donations 
- Provide easily available, high quality, fit-for-purpose control and disease tissue  
- Ensure high quality tissue samples suitable for molecular genetic DNA-based studies, RNA 
analyses, proteomics expression pr ofiling, target validation…  
- Promote the establishment of new brain tissue resources – normal control tissue, psychiatric 
and other rarer CNS disorders requiring tissue based research 
- Accelerate the accumulation of samples from rare conditions - Reduce the administrative load on local banks
 
                                                 
171 http://www.dendron.org.uk/  
172 http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Ourres earch/Priorities/LLHW/MRC005933