The results of the EU project EPITHERAPY approach to the cause of neurodegenerative diseases, which will encourage the creation of a memory enhancer drug.

According to Dr. Sweatt, University of Alabama, and European researchers in the project, the great promise for stopping memory loss lies in drugs known as histone deacetylase inhibitors.

"We hope that these studies will lead to more effective prevention strategies that improve the quality of life of older people and refine scientific knowledge about memory," U.S. researcher concluded.

Funding support for EPITHERAPY was provided by NEURON ('Network of European funding for neuroscience research'), part of the EU's ERA-Net (European Research Area-Network) scheme. The aim of NEURON is to link European national research funding programmes and funding activities in the field of disease-related neurosciences. Due to end in December 2010, NEURON has received EUR 2.7 million in funding support from the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

In addition to the University of Göttingen, the EPITHERAPY project is represented by researchers from Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in France and Universidad Miguel Hernandez in Elche in Spain.

There are more than seven million people with dementia in Europe, Alzheimer's and Huntington. Dementia affects cognitive abilities like memory, attention, language and problem solving, and advanced disease also causes disorientation.

It is expected that by 2025 the number of Europeans suffering from dementia will be 14 million, double the current figure. This represents a loss of quality of life for a large group, and a considerable economic cost to the treasury of the European Union.

The European Commission adopted, in 2009, concrete proposals to tackle Alzheimer’s disease, dementias and other neurodegenerative conditions. European countries were also invited to pool their resources and better coordinate their research efforts in the field of neurodegenerative diseases.