Study Rationale: The biology of the spread of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is very complicated and not yet well understood. However, one of the key drivers has been identified as neuroinflammation and the neuroinflammatory process is driven by two key cellular entities known as microglia and astrocytes. Several studies show that the contributions of these cells either individually or as a group may vary significantly as the disease spreads through different parts of the brain. Understanding the interplay between these cell types, both separately and globally is critical for accurate diagnosis, staging and the development of new cures for PD.
Hypothesis: MRI-based technology designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and bind specific surface markers on cells involved in neuroinflammation following an injection, will label and report on the specific brain location and the specific cell types involved, revolutionizing PD early diagnosis, staging, monitoring, and facilitating the development of new cures.
Study Design: Our proposed technology is based on tiny drug carriers known as nanoparticles, designed to carry MRI sensitive molecules and labeled with another molecule that can recognize and bind to a specific cell surface marker following injection into the body. When scanned in an MRI instrument, the resulting images display the exact location of cells which have taken up the nanoparticles. We propose to prepare and test a toolbox (mMRI GlioScope) containing three different types of these nanoparticles (one specific to microglia, one specific to astrocytes, and one that can simultaneously label both cell types), these cells and pre-clinical models of PD.
Impact on Diagnosis/Treatment of Parkinson’s disease: Early diagnosis of the disease before movement disabilities appear. Stratification of patients for clinical trials. Mapping out specific areas of disease activity in the brain will enable accurate staging of disease progression. Doctors can prescribe personalized medicine based on an individual’s specific disease characteristics, not a “one size fits all.”
Next Steps for Development: Successful completion of this study will demonstrate that our technology works in pre-clinical models of PD. The next developmental steps will be to conduct safety studies in small and large pre-clinical models. If shown to be safe, we will apply to the FDA for approval to begin testing in humans.