Summary: Professor Michael Sommerauer, MD, from the University of Bonn, has been awarded a €2.5 million European Research Council Consolidator Grant for his research into the early detection of Parkinson’s disease through sleep studies. His “Re-Start PD” project focuses on identifying early warning signs of Parkinson’s, particularly REM sleep behavior disorder, to improve early diagnosis and intervention. Sommerauer aims to develop an early-warning system, including a tablet app, in collaboration with international experts, to advance understanding and treatment of Parkinson’s in its early stages.
Key Takeaways:
- Early Detection Through Sleep Research: Professor Michael Sommerauer’s research focuses on using sleep disorders, particularly REM sleep behavior disorder, as an early warning sign for Parkinson’s disease, which often goes undiagnosed until significant nerve cell loss has occurred.
- European Research Funding: The European Research Council has awarded €2.5 million to Sommerauer’s “Re-Start PD” project, which aims to improve early diagnosis and treatment strategies for Parkinson’s through sleep studies.
- Collaboration and Prevention Goals: The project involves collaborations with international researchers and aims to develop tools like a tablet app for large-scale early detection, while additional funding supports prevention strategies such as promoting physical activity to reduce Parkinson’s risk.
Professor Michael Sommerauer, MD, at the University of Bonn was selected to receive a European Research Council Consolidator Grant for his research on the early detection of Parkinson’s disease through the study of sleep.
Parkinson’s disease usually escapes detection until a person is already showing signs of significant motor disorders and has lost a great many nerve cells. “By this point, it’s too late to pinpoint any treatments that could slow or stop the disease’s progression,” says Sommerauer in a release. “This is why it’s so important to spot the condition earlier, ie, before the patient develops symptoms that make it harder for them to do everyday things.”
The “Re-Start PD” project is designed to help identify Parkinson’s early, gain a better understanding of its early stages, and thus come up with new treatments. It is to receive nearly €2.5 million in funding from the European Research Council over the next five years.
Sleep Disorders as Precursors to Parkinson’s
Sommerauer has come to Bonn on an advanced clinician scientist scholarship from the University’s Faculty of Medicine. At the Clinic for Parkinson’s Disease, Sleep and Movement Disorders in the University Hospital Bonn’s Center for Neurology, he is in charge of the sleep laboratory, where his work focuses on sleep disorders as a warning sign for Parkinson’s.
“REM sleep behavior disorder is a precursor to Parkinson’s in certain people,” Sommerauer says in a release. To this end, he is also offering dedicated office hours for patients and, together with fellow physicians from the Netherlands and Austria, has secured over €1 million in EU funding to prevent Parkinson’s through increased movement and exercise. “So the [European Research Council] grant fits in really well with what I’ve been doing up to now,” the researcher adds in a release.
Collaboration and Future Goals
He is aiming to create an early-warning system for Parkinson’s complete with tablet app for large sections of the population, on which he is collaborating closely with colleagues from Bonn, Munich, Marburg, Oxford, and Boston.
Sommerauer spent the past six years working at the Neurology Clinic at the University Hospital Cologne, where he wrote his Habilitation thesis on sleep-wake disorders in cases of Parkinson’s disease and applied for the [European Research Council] Consolidator Grant that he has now been awarded in Bonn. After obtaining his medical degree from RWTH Aachen University, he went on to work at Aarhus University Hospital and the University Hospital Zurich.
The European Research Council awards its Consolidator Grants annually to fund excellent established researchers whose work demonstrates a high level of scientific quality on a par with their international peers. The grant is designed to bolster independent research teams that are already in place and consolidate their scientific work.
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