Research - LCSB Fundraising

Parkinson’s disease

From molecular mechanisms to patient care

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. It leads to symptoms like trembling, stiffness and general slowness of movements. Over time, a person with Parkinson’s may have trouble talking, swallowing or sleeping. It affects around 1000 people in Luxembourg, and 7 to 10 million worldwide. In all likelihood, these numbers will double until 2050. Both genetic as well as environmental factors are thought to play a pivotal role in the faster ageing and degeneration of dopamine-producing nerve cells that underlie this disease. But how exactly they trigger the pathological process in those cells is not clearly understood yet.

Alzheimer’s disease

Not to be forgotten: Alzheimer’s disease

It is estimated that currently 47 million people worldwide are living with dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disorder and the major cause of dementia (65%). Every 3 seconds, someone in the world develops dementia. A survey in 2018 estimated that more than 9,000 people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease in Luxembourg. With age being considered the most important risk factor, this number will considerably increase within the next decades due to the increasing life expectancy. Patients exhibit severe memory impairments, cognitive decline and neuropsychiatric symptoms. While the clinical symptoms are rather well defined, the molecular mechanisms underlying brain dysfunction in Alzheimer’s patients are still poorly characterized. As a consequence, there is currently no treatment available to slow down or cure the disease. At the LCSB, we are studying the underlying mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases to ultimately develop new ways to treat the disease.

Rare diseases

Rare diseases - not so rare all together!

Rare diseases are those that affect less than 1 in 2,000 people. While an individual disease might be labeled as “rare”, the total number of persons in Europe suffering from one of the over 7000 different identified rare diseases is estimated at over 30 million. According to ALAN – Maladies Rares Luxembourg, there are approximately 30.000 individuals concerned by rare diseases in Luxembourg. Nearly 80% of rare diseases are of genetic origin and many of them affect the brain. They are present throughout a person’s entire life, even if symptoms do not appear immediately. At the LCSB we study several rare diseases that are caused by genetic mutations leading to chronic and life-threatening symptoms. For the development of novel therapies, it is essential to identify the underlying genetic cause and to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease.

Other LCSB research

From molecules to brain dynamics

At the LCSB we apply such methods to many aspects of brain research. Be it on the molecular, cellular or whole brain level, computational models are at the core of LCSB’s work.

The team of Dr Alex Skupin has built models of the calcium signaling as well as energy production in mitochondria – the powerhouses of the cells. Researchers from the teams of Assistant Prof. Enrico Glaab and Prof. Reinhard Schneider have discovered several new genes implicated in Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsies, respectively. Prof. Antonio del Sol’s team was able to predict which molecular factors need to be changed to convert one cell type into another using computational models. In addition, our computer scientists around Prof. Jorge Goncalvez interact very closely with Prof. Frank Hertel, neurosurgeon at the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, to develop better ways to place and adjust electrodes used for deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s patients. In an ongoing project funded by the Michael J. Fox foundation LCSB researchers aim apply deep learning approaches to data from Parkinson’s patients to predict the evolution of the disease. These non-exhaustive examples of LCSB’s computational research show that modelling approaches form a central part in many of our research areas and go hand in hand with experimental work.

COVID-19 research

A year of scientific milestones

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, scientists from the University of Luxembourg, the Luxembourg Institute of Health, the Laboratoire National de Santé, LIST and LISER as well as laboratories and hospitals have joined forces under the umbrella of RESEARCH LUXEMBOURG to help in the fight against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Many Luxembourg-based scientists have initiated research projects focusing on the topic of COVID-19, notably on studies to gain a better understanding on the prevalence of the disease in Luxembourg, and to identify risk factors and biomarkers associated with severe symptoms and long-terms consequences of the disease. And by helping to model the evolution of the pandemic in Luxembourg, scientists are helping to shape informed decisions about confinement and exit strategies.

The Scienteens Lab

De Labo fir Jonker

The Scienteens Lab is the first research lab for high-school students in Luxembourg. It is an extracurricular learning centre of the University of Luxembourg that offers workshops designed to spark their interest in science, show them the latest trends and technologies in research and supports them in their career choice.