Psience Quest

Quote:fter decades of research, the causes or origins of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease are still mostly unknown. Research involving the connection between microorganisms in the human gut and the brain, referred to as microbiota-gut-brain axis, has intensified in recent years. This axis has been attracting particular attention in fields focusing on the biological and physiological basis of psychiatric, neurodevelopmental, age-related and neurodegenerative disorders.

Although there’s a huge amount of data analysing the impact of microbiota on brain functionality, the role of microbiota in neurodegeneration isn’t easily explained. Enter the EU-funded MINERVA project that aims to develop a technological platform to investigate the relation between the intestinal microflora and brain functionality in healthy and pathological conditions.

The project website refers to “the lack of a comprehensive model of the microbiota-gut-brain axis able to bridge current in vivo model complexity with the in vitro tools simplicity.” It adds: “In MINERVA this gap will be targeted using an INNOVATIVE bioengineered APPROACH, exploring in a completely NEW way the relation between neurodegeneration and human intestinal microflora.”