Greek Reporter — Ground-breaking research carried out by the University of Crete medical School Pharmacology Professor Achilleas Gravanis in Greece gives hope to sufferers of neurodegenerative diseases.
The research focuses on a new types of synthetic substances called microneurotrophins used to protect tissue from decline by mimicking the protective and regenerative properties of the natural larger molecule neurotrophins in the brain cells.
Naturally occurring neurotrophins play a key role in the development and protection of brain matter from birth until the depths of old age but are sometimes prevented from crossing the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain from toxins in the environment leading to neurodegenerative disorders.
Unlike the naturally occurring cells which are blocked by the brains natural defenses the much smaller synthetic alternatives are able to cross the blood brain barrier.
This breakthrough research could help ALS, Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis sufferers .
The research is taking place at the University of Crete School of Medicine, the Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH) in Heraklion where Gravanis is working as a researcher at the Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Institute and the National Hellenic Research Foundation in Athens.
