BIO-Europe 2016. A report from the official live blog about the expert panel "Your microbiome and lifelong health"
You may think that neurologists do not deal with the gut, typically. However, researchers at Helsinki University Central Hospital (HUCH) do. Filip Scheperjans, a neurologist from HUCH, focuses on the connection between Parkinson’s and the microbiome. His aim is to develop new therapeutic strategies for diseases like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer’s.
Scheperjans says: „Our most important observation was that patients with Parkinson have much less bacteria from the Prevotellaceae family. Based on these findings we concluded the microbiome can regulate autoimmune reactions in the nervous system.“ According to him these are completely new mechanisms of the human body that the academic world is yet to fully understand.
The microbiome has recently become one of the most promising research fields. There are about 650 studies ongoing currently, that is twice as many as two years ago. But is this just one hype between many others? Neurologist Scheperjans says: „No, not at all. We are even a few years behind. There is not enough research being done in this field. And in fact, this is one of the best approaches we ever found to treat diseases like Alzheimer’s. No better approaches exist currently.“
Anyway bringing this approach to the market would not end up in a traditional drug. Gregory Lambert, CEO of TargEDys, says a much wider variety of regulatory options would be required, as probiotic nutrition or cosmetics. Lambert: „Everyone has his or her own microbiotic. Depending on that everyone could develop his or her own schedule.“
Slowing down existing diseases or even preventing them are goals Scheperjans is focusing on. „But our short-term goal is first of all to find more people who work in this field. We also have to bring business and research more together, maybe at conferences like this.“
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You may think that neurologists do not deal with the gut, typically. However, researchers at Helsinki University Central Hospital (HUCH) do. Filip Scheperjans, a neurologist from HUCH, focuses on the connection between Parkinson’s and the microbiome. His aim is to develop new therapeutic strategies for diseases like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer’s.
Scheperjans says: „Our most important observation was that patients with Parkinson have much less bacteria from the Prevotellaceae family. Based on these findings we concluded the microbiome can regulate autoimmune reactions in the nervous system.“ According to him these are completely new mechanisms of the human body that the academic world is yet to fully understand.
The microbiome has recently become one of the most promising research fields. There are about 650 studies ongoing currently, that is twice as many as two years ago. But is this just one hype between many others? Neurologist Scheperjans says: „No, not at all. We are even a few years behind. There is not enough research being done in this field. And in fact, this is one of the best approaches we ever found to treat diseases like Alzheimer’s. No better approaches exist currently.“
Anyway bringing this approach to the market would not end up in a traditional drug. Gregory Lambert, CEO of TargEDys, says a much wider variety of regulatory options would be required, as probiotic nutrition or cosmetics. Lambert: „Everyone has his or her own microbiotic. Depending on that everyone could develop his or her own schedule.“
Slowing down existing diseases or even preventing them are goals Scheperjans is focusing on. „But our short-term goal is first of all to find more people who work in this field. We also have to bring business and research more together, maybe at conferences like this.“
Rétablir l'original