Support for research on neurodegenerative disorders

Currently, neurological and psychiatric disorders (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, paraplegia, stroke, depression, etc.) affect 1 in every 8 people in Europe. This assessment has led to the creation of the Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière (Brain and Spine Institute - ICM), an international research centre located in Paris, France, at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. Its mission is to improve the diagnosis, to prevent and to find treatments for brain and spinal cord diseases.

The Air Liquide Foundation has decided to support for a two year period ICM research for an amount of € 120,000 on the analysis of the mechanisms of neuronal degeneration in Parkinson’s disease and development of diagnosis and treatment methods to slow down the progression of the disease and correct the symptoms.

This support will be devoted to the team of ICM researchers headed by Dr Etienne Hirsch, neurobiologist and Assistant Director of the ICM Research Center. This team studies the “cellular respiration” dysfunction which is involved in Parkinson’s disease and which is responsible for the degeneration characteristic of this pathology. The project concerns the role of iron in mitochondria, which generates energy in cells, as well as the mechanism by which it alters cellular respiration.

The financing of this study falls within the framework of one of the Air Liquide Foundation’s three sponsorship areas: scientific research for the improvement of respiratory function.

The Air Liquide Foundation

With a budget of €3 million over five years, the Air Liquide Foundation supports corporate philanthropy actions in three areas: scientific research for the preservation of the environment, scientific research for the improvement of the respiratory function and support for micro-initiatives for local development in the countries where the Group is present. Since it was established in 2008, the Air Liquide Foundation has supported 82 projects, accompanied by 100 Group employees based in more than 35 countries.
www.fondationairliquide.com

Air Liquide is the world leader in gases for industry, health and the environment, present in 80 countries with 43,600 employees.

Brain and Spine Institute - Paris

The ICM was founded in 2006 upon the initiative of Professors Gérard Saillant, Yves Agid and Olivier Lyon-Caen, with the aim of preventing, treating and repairing brain and spinal cord disorders. 600 researchers, engineers and technicians, hand-picked to meet stringent standards, work on-site and close to patients, and endowed with hightech equipment.
www.icm-institute.org