Free Radical Pharmacology: Generators, Targets and Therapeutic Implications
(RADICAL PHARMACOLOGY)
Start date: Feb 1, 2011,
End date: Jan 31, 2015
PROJECT
FINISHED
Personalised Medicine is the next revolution in medicine. It is anticipated that we will see a dramatic shift towards predictive diagnostics and mechanism-based, individualised therapies. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading causes of death and disability and in Europe cause over 4.3 million deaths (48%) per annum. Since the mechanisms of CVD are not understood, the majority of current therapeutic approaches are symptom-orientated and imprecise. Therefore, we need innovative strategies to develop mechanism-based drugs, i.e. drugs, which target the cause of disease. A prerequisite for this is a detailed knowledge on the causes of CVD. One such highly promising mechanism of CVD is oxidative stress, i.e. the increased occurrence of oxygen radicals, an area of utmost medical significance but where so far all clinical trials using antioxidant treatment have failed. Here three major aims are proposed: to identify targetable sources of radical signals that are relevant for CVD, to establish strategies for reversing the molecular damage caused by oxidative stress, and to develop new markers for diagnosis of CVD in humans and mechanism-based treatments. Thereby, a conceptual shift in treating oxidative stress will be achieved. In the long-term, this research will provide measurable outcomes in improved health, new products, and economic benefits by lowering the public health burden and facilitate the growth of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in Europe. This will result in a net decrease of health burden and will ensure sustainability of the healthcare system. This fellowship will also help to further attract leading international researchers to Europe to support the internationalisation of the European health and medical research, and to enhance EU’s reputation as place of excellence in biomedical research and translation.
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