Numerous clinical trials have shown that neurons can be transplanted into the Parkinson’s diseased brain to replace the dopamine neurons that have died as a result of the disease process. However, to date, there is no established source of neurons that can be used for widespread application of this therapy. This project is investigating stem cells extracted from the bone marrow as a potential cell source for brain repair and/or protection.

BrainMatTrain focuses on a comprehensive understanding of Parkinson’s disease, from basics to translation, fully supported by eight full partners (four research institutions, two hospitals, two SMEs) and one partner organisation (SME specialist in device design). This European Training Network will educate and train 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in functionalised biomaterials, materials science, functionalisation strategies, molecular biology, stem cell biology, in vitro model systems, in vivo neuroimaging, preclinical models and prototype design.

The overall aim of this research is to examine the effect of regular exercise on:

1) Adult hippocampal neurogenesis

2) Cognitive performance in hippocampus-dependent memory tasks 

3) Microglial activation and neuroinflammatory profile using the transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease [amyloid precursor protein (APP)SWE/presenilin-1 (PS-1)].