R&D magazine reports that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is at the heart of a new non-invasive brain imaging technique that may lead to better treatment plans for patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers at the University of Michigan published a study detailing the new technique, which uses MRI to measure brain activity in the resting state, focusing especially on neural oscillations. In a patient with Parkinson’s, these oscillations can disrupt functions in other parts of the brain, causing a number of neurological problems. What’s new about this technique is its ability to study these oscillations without performing brain surgery or depending on animal models.
Researchers were able to test the effectiveness of a drug called L-DOPA with the new MRI technique, which produced images demonstrating the drug’s ability to reduce neural oscillations.
“The change in brain activity correlated with improvements in symptoms when patients were on versus off the medication,” Seidler told R&D. “Thus we propose that the brain imaging technique we used should be a good, noninvasive approach for monitoring disease progression and evaluating new treatments.”
The study involved the collaboration of four departments at U of M: the Department of Psychology, the U-M College of Engineering, the U-M Neuroscience Program, and the U-M Medical School.
