Brain Innovation Days: HaDEA-managed projects working in brain health research

Around 165 million Europeans are living with a brain disorder. Brain disorders, including but not limited to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, depression, stroke, migraine and sleep disorders, present an important health challenge and research is key to address these. 

HaDEA manages a wide range of projects funded under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe in the area of brain research and innovation, some of which will attend the 4th edition of the Brain Innovation Days event. The event will take place on 13-14 November under the theme “Navigating the Brain Across a Lifetime“, focusing on topics such as cognitive resilience, lifelong learning, skills development for maintaining brain health and advancements in neurotechnology.   

Discover the showcased projects: 

• The ALAMEDA project aims to provide personalised rehabilitation treatment assessment using Artificial intelligence (AI) for patients with Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and stroke to enhance outcome predictability and the management of brain diseases. ALAMEDA. An AI Toolkit was developed allowing to showcase advancements in the early diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases through AI and technological interventions, offering open data and AI models to improve healthcare outcomes for patients with brain diseases and facilitating access to innovative AI-based healthcare solutions. 
• The NEUROCOV project focuses on the long-term neurological and neuropsychiatric complications due to COVID-19 (commonly known as NeuroCOVID), including compromised sense of smell and taste, impaired ability to concentrate, memory problems, stroke, and significant brain scan alterations. The project aims to develop AI-based predictive models to assess the risk of developing NeuroCOVID, identify drug candidates and propose personalised therapies for post-COVID patients. 
• The PRIME project is developing tools for improved prevention, diagnosis and care of insulin-related multimorbidity that underly conditions such as type 2 diabetes and brain disorders (including Alzheimer’s disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism). The project has identified non-pharmacological preventive strategies by using a monitoring app, helping standardise research data and increase data collection. It has also developed an e-learning course for clinicians and other health professionals to bridge the knowledge on insulin-multimorbidity and insulin impact on brain function. 
• The BIND project  is working towards better treatments, care and outcomes for people living with Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) Muscular Dystrophy, rare inherited disorders in which strength and muscle bulk gradually decline. Its innovations include genetic therapies designed to improve brain involvement in DMD, the identification of novel dystrophin* complexes essential for brain function, and the development of the ‘BIND rapid screener’ to detect neurobehavioral comorbidities associated with the condition.
• The Brain Health Toolbox project works on accurate dementia prediction and effective prevention by developing disease models and prediction tools, testing them in real-world trials and bridging the gap between non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches through a European trial platform. The models take into account diverse risk factors and biomarkers, using advanced machine learning for pattern identification and risk profiling, enabling early identification of high-risk individuals and long-term risk monitoring.
• The BRAINTEASER project is working on designing models to predict the progression of multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by developing wearable user-centered sensors to advance clinical decision-making and prevention. One of the mains aims of the project is to assist clinicians in suggesting interventions that can delay the progression of the disease.
• The PROSPERH project aims to gather data on factors influencing mental and physical health in the workplace. By gathering key workplace health data, PROSPERH will develop a comprehensive intervention, delivered via a dedicated Portal, targeting various aspects of work, with a focus on health promotion, online self-monitoring and management, as well as pathways for clinical care or coaching referrals. 
• The BOOTSTRAP project aims to address risks generated by the widespread use of internet leading to problematic internet use (PUI) by researching internet usage patterns among young people across Europe, identifying harmful behaviors and developing strategies to mitigate them. Using algorithm-based models, Bootstrap will create a digital screening and assessment platform and produce policy toolkits to provide insights into the psychological mechanisms behind PUI and guide targeted policy interventions.

^{*Dystrophin in the brain is a protein that is deficient in DMD and only partly functional in BMD, and the BIND project aims to elucidate its role in the brain.} 

Background

Horizon Europe is the research and innovation programme of the EU for the period 2021-2027. The aims of Cluster 1 ‘Health’ include improving and protecting the health and wellbeing of citizens of all ages by generating new knowledge, developing innovative solutions and integrating a gender perspective to prevent, diagnose, monitor, treat and cure diseases. 

Horizon 2020 (H2020) was the EU’s multiannual funding programme between 2014 and 2020.