Functional imaging of dementia

Title of project or programme

Title of PI

Functional imaging of dementia

Principal Investigators of project/programme grant

Title	Forname	Surname	Institution	Country
dr.	John C	van Swieten	Erasmus MC	Netherlands
prof. dr.	Serge A.R.B.	Rombouts	Leiden University MC	Netherlands
prof. dr.	Aad	van der Lugt	Erasmus MC	Netherlands
prof. dr.	Peter J.	Koudstaal	Erasmus MC	Netherlands

Address of institution of lead PI

Institution	Erasmus MC
Street Address
City	Rotterdam
Postcode	3015 CE

Country

• Netherlands

Source of funding information
Dutch Alzheimer’s Association (Azheimer Nederland)
Total sum awarded (Euro)
510000
Start date of award
01-01-2008
Total duration of award in months
60
The project/programme is most relevant to

• Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias

Keywords

Research abstract in English
It is well known that a high percentage of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) develop in a later stage Alzheimer disease (AD) or vascular dementia (VaD). Functional MRI (fMRI) can detect early changes in brain function associated with cerebrovascular damage, and Diffusion Tensor Imaging MRI (DTI) can detect microstructural vascular changes in the brain. The research aim of our fMRI study is to prospectively investigate the contribution of advanced imaging techniques for the prediction of VaD and AD in a cohort of patients with MCI. For this study, activation and DTI changes in prefrontal and frontoparietal brain areas will be compared between a group of MCI patients, aged 65 or older, with cerebral small vessel disease on MRI, MCI patients without cerebral small vessel disease and healthy controls. Results of this study may help us to predict at-risk patients, who might be involved in future pharmacological interventions.
Full-blown frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has been associated with changes in social behaviour, cognitive functioning and connectivity changes on RS-fMRI. Our second research aim is to investigate changes in RS- and task-related fMRI in early FTD and in presymptomatic stage. Extensive neuropsychological testbattery, social cognition tasks and RS-fMRI will be performed longitudinally over 4 years-period in presymptomatic mutation carriers from PGRN and MAPT families, and controls. In addition, task-related fMRI with the experimental setting of conflict with group opinion and social conformity will be carried in patients with early FTD, presymptomatic carriers and controls. If these techniques prove to be reliable tools to detect earliest changes in the disease process, these techniques can be used as functional biomarkers in clinical practice and pharmacological trials. The package of protocol and data set of RS-fMRi and task-related fMRI changes can be applied as products to other university centers all over the world.
Lay summary

In which category does this research fall?

• Clinical research

Functional imaging of dementia

Investments > €500k
Netherlands
Alzheimer’s disease & other dementias
2011