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Photo: De Redactie
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The Brain Foundation is allocating 1 million euros to a study by various UMCG employees led by Prof. Iris Sommer. They will investigate how the intestines can be used in the fight against brain disorders.
In the study, the intestines of people with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are manipulated naturally. The aim is to reduce disease-related symptoms, positively influence disease progression and improve mental health.
If the research is successful, almost half a million Dutch people with a brain disorder will directly benefit from this, the UMCG reported on Wednesday.
“Gut health greatly affects brain function and in many different ways,” says lead researcher Iris Sommer. “With this research we want to look at how we can optimize the individual intestinal flora in people with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We then look at what effect this has on the social and personal functioning and well-being of these people. With these results we can ensure that brain patients have fewer disease-related complaints and thus improve the quality of life ”.
The research was chosen as the winner by an international jury of brain scientists and patients from 29 applications. Merel Heimens Visser, director of the Brain Foundation, is very enthusiastic about the research. “It focuses on multiple brain disorders at the same time and there is a multidisciplinary collaboration between industry, neurology, psychiatry, cell biology, microbiology and dietetics. A large group of people with brain disorders can be helped with this. In addition, the results from this research may also be used for the treatment of other brain disorders. We are therefore very happy that we can make this research possible. ”
The grant of 1 million euros is the highest amount that the Brain Foundation has ever awarded to a single research project.
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