Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neuroscience research on aging and neurodegenerative diseases has been a strength at Université Laval for over 40 years. Over the years, researchers working on Parkinson’s disease have been joined by those interested in Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other types of neurodegeneration related to aging.
Today, some thirty of the University’s most productive teams are studying the genetics, pathophysiology and neuroimaging of these diseases, or developing new therapeutic approaches. These lines of research benefit from more fundamental work in neuroimmunology and in cellular and molecular biology.
Several researchers working in this area are using different animal models of neurodegenerative diseases, while others are evaluating the performance of patients suffering from these highly incapacitating diseases in order to detect early signs and develop effective treatments.
In humans, particular attention is paid to the neuropsychology of mood disorders and cognitive deficits associated with normal and pathological ageing.
