Descrizione del progetto
Una tecnologia di imaging per migliorare la diagnosi del parkinsonismo
Il parkinsonismo è il secondo disturbo neurodegenerativo più diffuso dopo il morbo di Parkinson e al 20 % dei pazienti viene diagnosticato il parkinsonismo atipico. Il parkinsonismo atipico tende ad essere resistente alla terapia e presenta un tasso di degenerazione più veloce rispetto al morbo di Parkinson. Il progetto SYNPARK, finanziato dall’UE, consiste in un’azione interdisciplinare che indagherà il valore delle diverse modalità dei marcatori di imaging in varie forme di parkinsonismo. Il miglioramento dell’accuratezza diagnostica è importante ora, quando le terapie che modificano la malattia sono sempre più disponibili per il morbo di Parkinson. La ricerca implica un approccio multidisciplinare della valutazione molecolare e sinaptica in vivo del cervello attraverso la tomografia a emissione di positroni (PET), l’organizzazione della connettomica del cervello intero utilizzando la risonanza magnetica per immagini e la convalida clinica di un tracciante PET di nuova generazione nel parkinsonismo/morbo di Parkinson.
Obiettivo
Neurodegenerative diseases affect more than 6 million people in Europe, and its prevalence is growing as population ages, hence it is a timeliness health challenge we are facing as a society. Parkinsonism is the 2nd most prevalent neurodegenerative form, being Parkinson’s disease (PD) the most frequent, whereas 20% of the patients are diagnosed with atypical parkinsonisms (AP). Despite presenting some clinical overlap, AP tends to be more therapy-resistant and have faster degeneration rates than PD. SYNPARK is an interdisciplinary project that will investigate the discriminative power of different imaging markers’ modalities in parkinsonisms. Improving diagnostic accuracy is crucial as disease-modifying therapies are becoming available for PD. For this challenge, I propose a multidisciplinary approach: from the in-vivo synaptic molecular brain assessment (using positron emission tomography, PET), the whole-brain connectomics organisation (using magnetic resonance imaging, MRI) to the clinics. I will conduct the outgoing phase in one of the world’s PET leading centres in Toronto to test the clinical validity of a new generation PET tracer in AP/PD. My host return institution (Barcelona) has pioneered the research on machine learning (ML) techniques that are revolutionising the medical sciences field to improve parkinsonisms’ differential diagnosis at the single-patient level by means of whole-brain MRI connectomics information. My current expertise and the proposed ambitious training objectives will position me at the forefront of this exciting new avenue in medical sciences and will enhance my professional independence for research leadership. Overall, the synergies established between these two leading centres are expected to have a tremendous impact on the understanding of AP/PD brain pathophysiology and its diagnostic accuracy, and ultimately enhancing a revolution in personalised medicine, a futuristic therapy that is increasingly becoming a reality.
Campo scientifico
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinephysiologypathophysiology
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespersonalized medicine
- engineering and technologymedical engineeringdiagnostic imagingmagnetic resonance imaging
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineneurologyparkinson
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencemachine learning
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
08007 Barcelona
Spagna