A consortium of research centres, universities and SMEs is studying psychiatric disorders caused by pollution in the Mediterranean area



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## A consortium of research centres, universities and SMEs is studying psychiatric disorders caused by pollution in the Mediterranean area

11/11/2024 |
SCP

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Image resource PyCoMed-HE PsyCoMedMarrakechmeeting
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Image resource PyCoMed-HE PsyCoMedUJIgroups

* [![ PyCoMed-HE PsyCoMedMarrakechmeeting](/com/investigacio/arxiu/noticies/2024/10/PyCoMed-HE/PsyCoMedMarrakechmeeting.jpg)](#)
* [![ PyCoMed-HE PsyCoMedUJIgroups](/com/investigacio/arxiu/noticies/2024/10/PyCoMed-HE/PsyCoMedUJIgroups.jpg)](#)

Exposure to pollutants is a threat to human health and well-being. Numerous epidemiological, clinical and animal studies indicate adverse associations between environmental pollution and mental illness. However, the biological mechanisms responsible remain elusive. To date, no therapeutic treatment has been developed to address the underlying causes of the associated neurological disorders.

A research team made up of seven universities, including the Universitat Jaume I with the groups BIOMyE - Biology of Memory and Emotion, NEST - Neuropathology and Brain Plasticity and the Environmental Health Laboratory; nine research centres and institutes, and three SMEs, coordinated by Professor Marc Landry of the Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bordeaux, will study psychiatric disorders and comorbidities caused by pollution in the Mediterranean area, including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and impulse control disorders.

The project "Psychiatric disorders and comorbidities caused by pollution in the Mediterranean area" (PsyCoMed) is based on the hypothesis that pollutants present in the Mediterranean Sea expose nearby populations to an increased risk of psychiatric disorders and comorbidities. To investigate this, mechanistic and integrative preclinical research will be correlated with clinical assessment of inflammatory processes in psychiatric patients.  
Universities, research centres and institutes will carry out in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo preclinical studies of systemic and central inflammatory pathways (activated by environmental stressors and affecting brain function) and compare their results with clinical studies in populations from different areas of the Mediterranean region. Their analysis will advance knowledge of the neuroinflammatory mechanisms triggered by pollutants in the central nervous system and their impact on mental disorders.

The UJI will be in charge of evaluating and monitoring the compliance of all studies with the ethical requirements of national and EU regulations. It will also be responsible for harmonising, as far as possible, all protocols to ensure animal welfare and will propose a common system for the approval and authorisation of human study reports. Among the projects led by UJI research groups is the analysis of the impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on the nervous system during periods of high vulnerability when the blood-brain barrier may be more permeable, such as embryonic development. It should be noted that the presence of these pollutants is increasing at an alarming rate.

The training of young researchers is one of the priorities of this project, which will be carried out through stays and temporary secondments in different centres. The aim is to consolidate their knowledge so that they can contribute directly to the objectives of several European programmes, such as the EU4Health programme, through the prevention of diseases and cross-border health threats and the development of therapeutic strategies for healthy mental development by improving medicines.

A unique feature of the PsyCoMed project is the selection of natural products with potential anti-inflammatory and therapeutic effects for the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Natural products have several advantages as therapeutic agents over synthetic drugs, including the fact that they are extremely unlikely to become new contaminants.

In addition to providing new insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the effects of pollution on mental health, PsyCoMed will develop an inventory of substances that can alleviate mental illness and determine the severity of their effects on mental health, with the aim of providing preventive measures to support appropriate treatment of mental disorders.

PsyCoMed is a multidisciplinary research project combining the expertise of leading research groups in psychiatry, animal behaviour, cell biology, immunology and neuroscience, and SMEs specialised in hormone screening (Watch Frog) and the development of natural products as therapeutic agents (FlaNat, BenePhyt), with complementary expertise at different levels of analysis.

The project is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme, within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) to promote staff exchanges. It started in January 2023 and will end in December 2026. Its budget is 1,159,200 euros provided by the European Union.

Website: <https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101086247/es>

**Members of the PsyCoMed consortium**  
Coordination: Marc Landry (Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives. Université de Bordeaux-UBx), France

**Academics**  
JUK Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, Krakow, Poland  
UJI Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, Spain  
UCA Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech, Morocco  
UTM Université de Tunis El Manar, Tunisia  
UM University of Malta  
Instituto di Neuroscienze. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerce. Cagliari, Italy  
IPMC Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire-CNRS-Université Côte d'Azur, France  
USEK Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon  
AU University of Alexandria, Egypt  
FINMH Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health, Australia

**SMEs**  
FlaNat Flanat Research Italia SRL  
Watch Frog, France  
BenePhyt, France

![](https://ujiapps.uji.es/ade/rest/storage/RTDL29ALFNELEPDMVHIMGVSQF5G021EI)

\*Project funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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