NeuroPrion -

The NeuroPrion Network of Excellence

In september 2003 a new european "Network of Excellence" was launched to protect humans and animals against prion diseases. The project NeuroPrion was selected by the European Commission under the Thematic Priority 5 “Food Quality and Safety”.

Project no.: FOOD-CT-2004-506579
Total funding : 14.4 M€ for 5 years

Introduction

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), also known as prion diseases, constitute a class of neurodegenerative diseases, which affect both humans and animals. These diseases are known to be caused by a new type of infectious agents, the prion, highly resistant to conventional methods of decontamination. Since the appearance of the first Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) more comonly known as "mad cow" cases in the 1980s these diseases have become a major problem for society with important health and economical consequences.

The coordination of the research on prion diseases at the European level has played a significant role in the crisis management of BSE in the last decade. However, since the biology of prions still escapes our full comprehension it is still a major concern for today's society. Coordination is thus a key element to protect human and animal health and to avoid future BSE crises.

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NeuroPrion a strong research force composed of the majority of prion scientists in Europe

NeuroPrion unites the strength of prion experts from 52 research institutions distributed amongst 20 countries and each institutions contains several prion laboratories.This translates in a research taskforce corresponding to nearly 90% of overall research teams which are studying prions.

NeuroPrion has recognised the strengths of each of its members in the European TSE research and will attempt to create a synergy among them. This should reduce the fragmentation and duplication of prion research in Europe and thus strengthen its role in society.

more on the activities of the network...