et and nort scientists are researching how to slow down dead cells in the brain

CONNECTED ESKHO AND NORSKHO KNOW-HOW

The unique Czech-Norwegian MitAD project was created by connecting experts in basic and clinical research, focusing on the role of mitophagy in the clinical population. The goal of the MitAD project is to identify specific features of the mitophagy mechanism in patients at different stages of Alzheimer’s disease, which could serve as information about mitochondrial health, and to find out whether there is a connection with the clinical manifestations of the disease, as was observed in most models. Then it will be possible to proceed to further steps in research, which could lead to the development of a drug to improve the recycling of mitochondria, thereby delaying and slowing down Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, thus contributing to a healthy future.

Czech and Norwegian know-how will be added very soon in the course of this research. The Czech Brain Aging Study is, by its very nature, the most extensive long-term study in Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases. The Norwegian laboratories, on the other hand, have advanced biochemical methods. As part of the MitAD project, more than 500 patients from the Cognitive Center of the Neurological Clinic of the 2nd Lkask Faculty of Charles University were recruited. In these patients, researchers analyzed biological samples with the aim of identifying specific mitophagy proteins. st sample is the analysis center at the University of Oslo.

CONNECTED TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD’S RESEARCH

The dream of cooperation between the Czech and Norwegian teams resulted in several presentations for professional and lay audiences and students. The main results of the research were presented by these scientists during the Norwegian-British workshop on brain cells at the University of Oslo, which was attended by European capacities dealing with research on cells with a mitophagy pathway. Currently, these results are being reviewed in a leading scientific journal, and the research team is completing another study focusing on the role of mitophagy in patients with other neurodegenerative diseases.

Thanks to the contribution from the EEA/Norway and TAR Funds, it was possible to create a unique scientific project and connect to the world’s leading Alzheimer’s disease research, commented Kateina Veverov, head of the biochemistry department of the project, from the Neurological Clinic of the FN Motol. In April 2024, in cooperation with Norwegian colleagues, an international conference summarizing the results of the MitAD project will be held in Prague with the participation of eight foreign experts.

The project was supported by 1.4 million from the EEA/Norway Fund and the R Technology Agency under the KAPPA Program.

RNDr. Kateina Veverov, Ph.D. and Doc. MD Martin Vyhnlek, Ph.D., Department of Neurology at Motol University Hospital

Ondej Fiala, Deputy Ambassador, Embassy of R in Oslo