Neuroimaging Biomarkers for Multiple Proteinopathies

 


   Note: An Official Proposal has not been Submitted to NACC.


   Lead Investigator:    Shama Karanth
   Institution      :    University of Florida
   E-Mail           :    shama.karanth@ufl.edu
   Proposal ID      :    1728



   Proposal Description:
   Most age-related neurodegenerative disorders are associated with the aggregation of misfolded and aberrant proteins. Alzheimer?s disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders and is highly prevalent in older adults. Neuropathologically, AD is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-#946 plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Other misfolded proteins, including #945-synuclein and transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), are also commonly observed in aged brains. Co-occurrence of multiple pathologies/proteinopathies has emerged as an important and common age-related pathology. The clinical syndrome associated with multiple proteinopathies appears to have an aggressive course of disease that typically ends with severe dementia and may complicate efforts to identify therapies to treat and prevent AD. This study will focus on MRI imaging (e.g. hippocampal volume) and other biomarkers and link to multiple pathologies to understand the pattern of neurodegeneration and to predict multiple proteinopathies via the use of neuroimaging and other biomarkers.