Research | Funded Projects

STUDY OF PERFUSION IN MULTISYSTEMIC ATROPHY WITH 3D-ARTERIAL SPIN LABELING

MSA patients, healthy controls and patients affected with Parkinson and progressive supranuclear paresis will undergo brain MRI (3T Skyra, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany). The MRI protocol includes a 3D GRASE arterial spin labeling sequence (TR/TE = 5000/16.38 ms, 3mm-isometric voxel, Bolus Duration of 700ms) and a T1-weighted MPRAGE sequence (TR/TE = 2400/2.25ms, 1mm-isometric voxel). Subsequent analyses will define brain perfusion differences among subgroups helping to define possible MR biomarkers of disease. So far, perfusion studies are scares; no one applied non-invasive techniques for defining disease-specific perfusion patterns among different parkinsonisms.