| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/N034864/1 |
| Title: |
Non-Invasive Imaging of Glymphatic Clearance: A Novel Strategy for the Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease |
| Principal Investigator: |
Lythgoe, Professor M |
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| Department: |
Medicine |
| Organisation: |
UCL |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research |
| Starts: |
01 November 2016 |
Ends: |
31 January 2019 |
Value (£): |
304,371
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Med.Instrument.Device& Equip. |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
Alzheimer's disease is a devastating illness that causes severe memory loss. Despite the huge social, economic and emotional burden of the condition, there is currently no cure. The development of effective treatments is hindered by the difficulty of accurately identifying the early phase of the disease, years before symptoms become apparent.
Recent evidence has come to light of a previously unrecognised waste removal system that clears excess fluid and toxins from the brain. It is thought that impairment of this pathway, known as the glymphatic system, may be a critical causal factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease. However, currently this pathway cannot be measured in humans.
We will develop the first non-invasive methods to image the glymphatic system using MRI, enabling assessment in the human brain for the first time. The new techniques will be carefully assessed by: i) comparison to existing invasive methods that require the injection of imaging agents into the fluid that surrounds the brain, ii) imaging mouse models of impaired glymphatic clearance and comparison with healthy mice.
Taken together, this proposal may lead to a new method for early detection of Alzheimer's disease and identify a new target for effective treatment.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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