University of Bergen: New Mohn research centre for neuroprotection to pave way for prevention of neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) affect more than 10 million people globally and their prevalence is expected to at least double within over the next two decades. No therapy currently slows or stops disease progression. With support from the Trond Mohn Research Foundation (TMF), the Mohn Research Center for Neuroprotection is launching a coordinated effort to change that trajectory – by moving discovery and care upstream, toward early detection and prevention.

Backed by NOK 50 million (~USD 5 million) from the Mohn Foundation in partnership with the University of Bergen (UiB) and Haukeland University Hospital, the Center will unite clinicians, neuroscientists, and data experts to understand who is at risk, how disease begins, and how to protect the brain before irreversible damage occurs.

A cornerstone of the Center is research on REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) – a sleep condition in which people act out their dreams. Many individuals with RBD already have very early, so called prodromal, disease changes in their brain and a substantially increased risk of later developing full blown PD, DLB or MSA. This creates a rare opportunity to understand early mechanisms driving these disease and, crucially, to test strategies that might delay or prevent disease progression.

What the Center will do

• Build a national RBD cohort as a platform for world-class clinical research.
• Develop and validate biomarkers (digital, molecular, imaging) to detect early disease, monitor change over short intervals, and measure treatment effects.
• Design and run pioneering preventive trials in at-risk populations, testing whether early interventions can meaningfully alter disease trajectories.
• Leverage artificial intelligence to discover patterns that signal risk even earlier - potentially before symptoms emerge.

“TMF has supported high-quality research in Bergen for over two decades. We are pleased to support the research environment led by Professor Tzoulis at UiB and Haukeland University Hospital. We have high expectations that this initiative will significantly advance understanding of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders”, says Nicholas Nunn, Managing Director, Trond Mohn Research Foundation.

Parkinson’s is the world’s fastest-growing brain disease, and there is still no treatment that can slow or prevent progression,” says Professor Charalampos (Haris) Tzoulis, Head of the Mohn Research Center for Neuroprotection, Professor of Neurology and Neurogenetics at UiB and Consultant Neurologist at Haukeland University Hospital.

“By identifying risk earlier and developing scalable tools to monitor change, we can finally test prevention – moving from reacting after irreversible damage has occurred to protecting the brain at a very early stage.”

Professor Tzoulis also leads the K.G. Jebsen Center for Parkinson’s Disease and directs the Neuro-SysMed Center for Clinical Treatment Research in Neurology, providing a strong clinical and research foundation for the new Center.

This article was first published on 10 September by University of Bergen