Shared mechanisms and specificity in neurodegenerative diseases

Organiser: FENS

Additional Organiser: Society for Neuroscience (SfN)

Website

Attendance type(s): In Person

FENS members will benefit from preferential rates

Event Dates: 07—13 Jun 2015

This school will provide state of the art insights into mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Two main issues will be highlighted: 1) how the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases exhibit striking commonalities among distinct diseases; 2) how each disease preferentially targets selected subpopulations of neurons and neuronal functions in spite of widespread expression of the genes that influence disease.

Shared mechanisms will include pathways involved in the cellular control of proteostasis and homeostasis in neurons and other brain cells. Examples include autophagy, mitophagy, ER stress pathways, protein folding pathways, intracellular trafficking, and mitochondrial quality control and function. The shared mechanistic features are highlighted by the fact that disease-related mutations can lead to clinically “distinct” neurodegenerative diseases within the same families, raising questions about the extent to which these diseases represent distinct entities. Specific mechanisms will include the specific electrophysiological, signalling, metabolomic and circuit regulation features of defined subpopulations of neurons vulnerable and resistant to particular neurodegenerative diseases. Lectures will involve studies focused on patients, including the complex genetics of neurodegenerative diseases, as well as studies that apply model organisms to investigate mechanistic issues in these diseases. The School is meant for PhD students and postdocs with a neurobiological background and preferably some knowledge of the subject.

Contact Details

Name: FENS

Email: schools@fens.org