MICROBRADAM · Advanced MR methods for characterization of microstructural brain damage

Advanced MR methods for characterization of microstructural brain damage

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a main resource for experimental neuroscience and clinical research. The practical applications of MRI, including diagnostics, are of primary importance. The key features of MRI at the origin of this success include the fact that it is non-invasive and can produce extremely versatile contrast even without external contrast agents. The former property allows repeated scanning on the same subject without safety concerns. It is a useful feature both to track a pathology or treatment in a single subject, and to develop new techniques. The versatility of contrast is related to the fact that nuclear spins can be manipulated to make MR signal sensitive to several biophysical and biological phenomena. NMR applications are continuously evolving, and there is opportunity for many technological advances that can be easily exploited as MRI contrasts in clinical applications. Microstructural damage is a common, key point for the characterization and understanding of many serious neurological and psychiatric diseases and disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases. In this project, we developed of a set of advanced MR techniques for the characterization of microstructural damage in some key applications, from animal models to pilot clinical studies. Albeit different pathophysiologically, many brain diseases share two common needs: the need of quantitative tools for characterizing the specific mechanisms underlying tissue damage, and the need of diagnostic tools that can: 1) identify the pathology at its earliest stages before manifestation of severe clinical symptoms, and 2) assess even subtle efficacy of experimental treatments. Myelin sheath breakdown is the main form of microstructural damage shared by many neurological diseases. Quantification of myelin integrity is thus critical for the assessment of a variety of neurological diseases including Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The techniques we developed, based on a phenomenon called “Relaxation Along a Fictitious Field” (RAFF), showed a great sensitivity to demyelination. While we did not reach yet the endpoint of truly “tissue-composition-specific” MRI, the new techniques are a significant improvement that add information to the multiparametric approach needed to personalize treatments and care of the patients.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union