The Neuroimmunology and Encephalitis Study Group will bring together scientists, health professionals and people diagnosed with encephalitis to advance research in this area and improve health care, particularly for autoimmune encephalitis.
The Neuroimmunology and Encephalitis Study Group (GENIE), created by researchers from the University of Coimbra (UC), was created with the central aim of boosting knowledge and treatment of encephalitis. This informal association will bring together scientists, health professionals and people diagnosed with encephalitis to advance research in this area and improve healthcare, particularly for autoimmune encephalitis.
Encephalitis is a neurological disease that results in the inflation of brain tissue and has various causes, such as infections or in association with tumors in other organs of the human body. Autoimmune encephalitis, on the other hand, also results in inflammation of the brain, but is caused when the human body's defense mechanisms (the immune system) react against healthy organs, in this case the brain, causing damage to it. It can affect people of all ages, from children to the elderly.
As Ester Coutinho, a researcher at the UC Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC-UC) and the Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CiBB), explains, “it is estimated that around 100 people are diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis every year in Portugal, although the Portuguese reality has not yet been well studied”. “These diseases are very serious and can lead to significant disability or death, but a less favorable outcome can be prevented with timely diagnosis and treatment,” she adds.
“GENIE's main objective is to disseminate information about these diseases, which have only recently been recognized and are therefore still unknown to a large part of the population and even to some health professionals and researchers who may be interested in working in this area,” reveals the coordinator of the Neuroimmunology and Encephalitis Study Group.
Next Friday, the 24th, the association's first meeting will take place. It will take place at Rómulo - Centro Ciência Viva da Universidade de Coimbra (located on the ground floor of the Physics Department, in Pole I), between 9:00 and 16:15.
The event will feature talks by scientists and clinicians working in the field of encephalitis. There will also be a presentation of the project's online platform, where a range of content will be made available, including educational resources for people diagnosed with encephalitis and their carers and for health professionals, and information on ongoing studies into the disease.
Researchers, health professionals, people diagnosed with encephalitis and their caregivers, as well as other people interested in learning more about this disease, can join this association.
The event will be in Portuguese and the program is available below.
Catarina Ribeiro w/CNC-UC
