Young scientists awarded for neurodegenerative disease research

Young scientists from the University of Munich have been awarded for their research on neurodegenerative diseases.

The scientists’ work lead on the subject led to them being honoured with the award for outstanding achievement obtained by a single research group. This was in recognition for their efforts in investigating abnormal protein aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases.

Regina Fluhrer from the University of Munich was awarded with a 5,000 euro prize at the Boehringer Ingelheim APOPIS Awards for Young Researchers, which was set up to recognise the work of young scientists.

The research led to the discovery of new insights into enzymes and genes affecting Alzheimer’s disease, meaning that that the new understanding of some of their properties could lead to inhibitors being developed. Another group led by teams from France and the Netherlands was also awarded for their work on the genetic causes of frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Franz Adlkofer, organiser and coordinator of the APOPIS project, one of the operators of the awards, said that the researchers had helped “pave the way” for new investigations that could lead to better understanding of the conditions.

“We have made tremendous progress in understanding the pathological mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases and we will continue to do so in the coming months,” he added. However, Mr Adlkofer also stated that the “ultimate goal” of creating a therapy or a cure was still “some way down the road”.

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