Marc Cruts (VIB), Christine Van Broeckhoven (VIB), Christian Haass (DZNE), Dieter Edbauer (DZNE)

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a type of dementia clinically characterized by behavioural and language disturbances and affects generally people between 40 and 60 years of age, thus strongly impacting their career and social activities. In this age group, it is the second common cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease. The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying FTLD are still inadequately understood. To gain a better understanding of the disease processes, researchers in this project aim to identify novel genetic contributors and to generate novel animal and laboratory models to study the biological pathways involved in disease initiation and propagation.