Donation provides support for Parkinson’s research

Arthur and Ruth Nilsson have specified in their will that they want their joint assets after their death to go to the Faculty of Medicine at Uppsala University. Wedding photo from 1944.

The bequest of slightly more than SEK 2 million from Ruth and Arthur Nilsson in Örbyhus will go to the Faculty of Medicine at Uppsala University for research on Parkinson’s disease.

Recently the Medicine and Pharmaceutics Disciplinary Domain Board decided that the donation is to be shared equally by the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences and the Department of Neuroscience. In effect this means that the funds will be transferred to the research teams for molecular geriatrics and neurology.

The Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences at the Rudbeck Laboratory conducts ongoing research focused primarily on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. In both conditions, pathologically altered proteins are deposited in the brain, and these diseases cause a great deal of suffering for both patients and those close to them as well as a great cost for society.

“We cannot cure Parkinson’s disease today, but increased knowledge about what causes the disease and how it spreads in the brain will make it possible to develop new methods for diagnosis and treatment,” says Professor Martin Ingelsson, who heads the research team studying molecular geriatrics.

“Much of our research is directed at the alpha-synuclein protein, which we believe plays a key role in development of the disease. We are obviously very pleased to receive the donation and proud of the confidence placed in us. The funds will contribute to our research and make a difference by supporting several different ongoing projects.”