Cross-border cooperation for research on neurodegenerative diseases

Published on October 13, 2025 – Updated on October 13, 2025
 

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The NEURO-COOP project, which begins in March 2024 and runs for two years, addresses the challenge of advancing the diagnosis and understanding of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and others. It seeks to improve early diagnosis, differentiate between various diseases, and identify biomarkers and potential therapies.

In industrialised countries, the growth of the ageing population has led to a drastic increase in the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases caused by misfolded proteins, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and prion diseases.
The origin of some of these diseases has been linked to animal disorders, making cooperation between different health professionals (such as medical doctors and veterinarians) essential to address these issues within a “One Health” perspective.
This new approach requires a revision of prevention protocols and patient care strategies. Consequently, one of the key public health challenges is the development of methods for early diagnosis and innovative therapies for these diseases.

The objective is to disseminate information on innovation in diagnostic and therapeutic methods, to carry out longitudinal studies, and to standardise sampling procedures across the region.The expected outcome is to achieve progress in the diagnosis and understanding of these diseases, thereby improving patient care and developing more effective therapies.The anticipated results include the optimisation of in vitro diagnostic methods for these diseases and the identification of new biomarkers.
 

The added value of implementing this project in a cross-border framework lies in the collaboration between institutions and specialists on both sides of the border, who bring experience from different fields. This cooperation enables the standardisation of protocols, the collection of more diverse samples, and provides a comprehensive overview of the situation in the region.Collaboration with patient associations further strengthens the active involvement of patients in the project.

An original aspect of the project is the use of innovative techniques to study misfolded proteins and their interactions. It also aims to assess the resistance of these proteins to decontamination and the risk of medical transmission. This approach offers new perspectives and insights in the field of these diseases.In summary, the project addresses the challenge of neurodegenerative diseases through cross-border collaboration aimed at improving diagnosis, understanding, and the development of new therapies.

Partners :
- Universidad de Zaragoza UNIZAR (Zaragoza)
- Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement INRAE (Haute Garonne)
- Asociación Centro de Investigación Cooperativa de Biociencias CIC BIOHUNE (Bizkaia)
- Instituto de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentarias, IRTA, CRESA (Barcelona)
- Université de Toulouse (Haute Garonne)
- ATLAS MOLECULAR PHARMA S.L (Bizkaia)

 

This project is co-financed up to 65% by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Interreg V-A Spain-France-Andorra POCTEFA 2021-2027 Programme. The aim of the programme is to strengthen the economic and social integration of the Spain-France-Andorra border region. Its support focuses on the development of cross-border economic, social, and environmental activities through joint strategies promoting sustainable territorial development.

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