Three Catalan centers to participate in European project for early detection of Alzheimer and Parkinson

By Biocat

Scientists from Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Hospital de Sant Pau and the Pascual Maragall Foundation are participating in an international project studying cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in order to find biomarkers for Alzheimer and Parkinson.  The aim of the initiative, called Biomarkapd, is to facilitate early detection of these two diseases through standardized methodology, which will allow for comparison of results from around Europe and increase diagnostic reliability.

The project establishes how to standardize CSF biomarker results in Europe, take samples, carry out measurements and interpret results. It also aims to create a biobank with samples from patients diagnosed with Alzheimer or Parkinson, two diseases that affect more than 8 million Europeans.

In total, 46 centers from 19 countries in Europe and Canada are participating in Biomarkapd. In addition to the three Catalan centers, participants from Spain include Miguel Hernández University and the Center for Networked Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CSIC-Ciberned). The project is coordinated by the prestigious Karolinska Institutet of Sweden.

Nearly 80 scientists specializing in Alzheimer and Parkinson, from around Europe, met on 13 September at Hospital Sant Pau to speak about the most cutting-edge research in early detection through the study of cerebrospinal fluid, which once extracted through a spinal tap can help detect diseases in their early stages. José Luis Molinuevo, who heads up the Alzheimer Unit at Hospital Clínic, explains that standardizing diagnostic methodology in Europe will lead to more reliable detection. In the same line, the Pasqual Maragall Foundation launched the Alfa study (Alzheimer and Families) in 2012 to research early detection of this type of dementia.