Natural plant products for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

The term neurodegeneration is common to many diseases of the nervous system, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and others. In recent years, with the increase in life expectancy, the incidence of some of these diseases is growing rapidly.
The use of natural compounds in the treatment of certain diseases has become increasingly widespread. The attention has been focused on particular compounds including saffron, a spice derived from Crocus sativus and which has interesting properties not only from the food standpoint but also as an antioxidant and neuroprotector. This spice has been shown to be effective in slowing and / or blocking the progression of some neurodegenerative processes in the central nervous system (retina) such as age-related macular degeneration (DMLE). The research activity aims to deepen the knowledge of the mechanisms of the effectiveness of saffron, including its interaction with the P2X7 purinergic membrane receptor involved in neuroinflammation and in neurodegeneration. The research also focuses on identifying the components of the spice that are most active. The main objective is to evaluate the possible use of saffron in the prevention and / or treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases such as: retinitis pigmentosa, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease.

Members:
Mario Nobile
Cristiana Picco (Principal investigator)