PET imaging for Inflammation in Frontotemporal Dementia and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
Summary
PET imaging is a powerful tool to visualise and quantify molecular changes in people living with dementia. We use PET to characterise inflammation in people with frontotemporal dementia and progressive supranuclear palsy, linking this with markers of neurodegeneration, pathology and clinical progression. Assessing how in vivo markers of inflammation relate to pathology and clinical outcomes is a crucial step to define their utility for better prognosis and future trials.
Project aims
This project aims to expand our insight on the role of microglia in neurodegeneration, and its interaction with other pathological mechanisms in patients with frontotemporal dementia and progressive supranuclear palsy.
The study will test novel PET tracers and their utility in mapping microglia distribution, and its association with disease progression. Longitudinal and multimodal data analyses will be implemented, and the findings will be validated in PET-to-post mortem work.
Contact details
Dr Maura Malpetti (mm2243@medschl.cam.ac.uk) – Neurology
Opportunities
This project is open to applicants who want to do a:
- PhD
- MPhil