• The European research project B-SMART has released a short animated clip illustrating the project’s innovative approach and raising awareness for the importance of nanomedicine in treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Santiago de Compostela, 28 March 2018 – The European research project B-SMART has released a short animated clip illustrating the project’s innovative approach and raising awareness for the importance of nanomedicine in treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. So far incurable, neurodegenerative diseases affect over 7 million people in Europe already – a number which is expected to grow rapidly as the population ages. The film uses comprehensible language to explain the project ambitions and potential to a non-scientific audience.
The multinational research endeavour B-SMART, which is funded under the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020, aims to discover new ways to treat neurodegenerative diseases through nanotechnological RNA delivery systems targeting the direct cause of the disease instead of its symptoms. In order to achieve these ambitious goals, 9 partners from academia and industry across different European countries have pooled their resources and expertise.
The laboratory of Maria J. Alonso contributed to the B-SMART consortium activities through the design and development of nanocarriers with the capacity to cross the nose-to-brain barrier as well as the blood-brain-barrier. These nanocarriers are intended to deliver RNA drug molecules in the brain region.
The clip is available on the B-SMART website (http://b-smart-project.eu/film) and on YouTube.