Towards earlier diagnosis and treatment: LCSB brain research receives generous foundation support

Two exciting new LCSB research projects are set to launch thanks to funding from the Fondation du Pélican de Mie et Pierre Hippert-Faber. Following its annual competitive call, the foundation has awarded almost 600,000€ to each project, continuing its long-standing commitment to advance research on neurodegenerative diseases and in oncology.

Understanding how enzyme deficiencies can cause neurodegeneration in children

The Enzymology & Metabolism group led by Prof. Carole Linster investigates how changes in cellular metabolism contribute to both rare and common neurodegenerative diseases. With the new funding, the team will deepen its study of two metabolic enzymes, NAXD and NAXE. Back in 2011, the group uncovered the essential repair role of these enzymes and more recently showed how their deficiency can lead to a severe childhood neurodegenerative disorder called PEBEL.

The new three-year project, From Discovery to Therapy: Tackling a New Pediatric Neurodegenerative Disorder (TreatNAXD), will focus on developing diagnostic biomarkers and exploring potential treatments for affected children. At the kick-off meeting with the foundation’s scientific steering committee on 26 November, Prof. Linster highlighted the impact this could have for families:“This is a devastating disorder, but we already have indications that it may respond to treatment—and that early intervention will be crucial. With this project, we will therefore focus on developing tools for earlier diagnosis as well as on advancing efficient therapeutic strategies.”

While centred on the rare PEBEL disease, the project is also expected to shed light on related neurodegenerative conditions by revealing how central metabolic perturbations impair brain function. 

New avenues for early detection and disease-modifying treatments of Parkinson’s disease

Better diagnosis and early intervention are equally crucial for Parkinson’s disease, one of the most widespread neurodegenerative disorders worldwide. Supported by the new grant, the Translational Neuroscience group led by Prof. Rejko Krüger at the LCSB, together with Dr Feng Hefeng from the Department of Infection and Immunity of the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), will study specific immune cells (T cells) that appear to play a crucial role in the early stages of the disease.

The three-year Pelican-funded project, Immune-mediated T-cell toxicity for early diagnosis and precision medicine in Parkinson’s Disease (Immediate-PD), will focus on at-risk individuals showing early warning signs, such as a reduced sense of smell, constipation and a type of sleep disorder known as REM-Sleep-Behaviour Disorder. People with these characteristics have been found to have an over 80% probability of developing Parkinson’s disease within 10 years. Therefore, a close monitoring of their health and detection of earliest signs of Parkinsons’, with the help of highly innovative biomarkers, promises groundbreaking advances in diagnostics, and could directly translate into novel disease-modifying treatment options.

Prof. Krüger noted:“Thanks to the risk cohorts developed with our 2021 National Sleep Survey and the 2022 Healthy Brain Ageing Study, which comprehensively characterised already more than 350 people at risk, we are in a unique position to study what happens during the earliest stages of Parkinson’s disease, and how we might delay or even prevent its onset”.

Six Pelican-funded biomedical research projects since 2024

In addition to the two new LCSB projects, the foundation is also supporting research by Prof. Elisabeth Letellier from the Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM), aimed at improving understanding of colorectal cancer, the second most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer-related deaths.

Together with the three ongoing LCSB research projects already receiving Pelican funding since 2024, the foundation now supports a total of six projects at the University of Luxembourg in the framework of its Hippert Research Program, with another call currently open.

“We are profoundly grateful to the Fondation du Pélican de Mie et Pierre Hippert-Faber for its long-term commitment to brain research,” concludes Prof. Michael Heneka, director of the LCSB. “With its support, we drive excellence in  research, build our international reputation and, most importantly, hope to make significant advances in diagnosis and treatment, for a real impact on patients and families in Luxembourg and beyond.”