Parkinson puzzle piece found
Parkinson’s disease begins barely noticeably in the brain and gradually affects the entire body. In a long-term study, researchers from the Helmholtz Research Field Information have found patterns in how the regional brain volume changes over the years. The study has now been published in the scientific journal “Cortex”. (Source: Forschungszentrum Jülich – Press releases)
In the neurodegenerative disease Parkinson’s disease, nerve cells are degraded in certain brain regions for unknown reasons. “Research on Parkinson’s is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, with each study providing a new piece. Hopefully, one day we will be able to put the pieces together to cure or prevent the disease,” says Dr. Peter Pieperhoff of the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1). Together with colleagues from Jülich, Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf and the Ernst von Bergmann Clinic in Potsdam, he has added another piece to the puzzle: They found a specific regional pattern of volume changes in the brains of Parkinson’s patients. The scientists were also able to demonstrate that there is a connection between the decrease in brain volume in certain areas and the progression of symptoms typical of Parkinson’s disease.
For their study, the researchers had examined a total of 37 Parkinson’s patients and 27 healthy people since 2005: Using magnetic resonance imaging, their brain volumes were determined at up to 15 different time points over a period of up to almost nine years. “Previous studies had examined the volumes either only at fewer time points or over shorter periods of time,” Pieperhoff explains. The researchers calculated the regional changes in brain structure using neuroanatomical atlases such as the Jülich Brain Atlas. “In the end, we were able to identify a very specific pattern of volume changes in the diseased. Over time, this pattern differed more and more clearly from that of the healthy aging subjects,” Pieperhoff reports.
At the same time, the results confirmed a 2003 study by neuropathologist Prof. Heiko Braak, who had examined the brains of deceased Parkinson’s patients under the microscope and used the data to divide the course of the disease into six stages: “There is striking agreement between the two studies,” says Pieperhoff. The researchers now want to apply the methods they have developed to larger cohorts of patients – in the hope of finding the next piece of the puzzle.
The original press release can be found at:
Parkinson-Puzzleteil gefunden (only in german)
The original publication can be found at:
Pieperhoff P, Südmeyer M, Dinkelbach L, Hartmann CJ, Ferrea S, Moldovan AS, Minnerop M, Diaz-Pier S, Schnitzler A, Amunts K. Regional changes of brain structure during progression of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease – A longitudinal study using deformation based morphometry. Cortex. 2022 Jun;151:188-210., DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.03.009
Localization in the Helmholtz Research Field Information:
Helmholtz Research Field Information, Program 2: Natural, Artificial and Cognitive Information Processing, Topic 5: Decoding Brain Organization and Dysfunction
Contact:
Dr. Peter Pieperhoff
Institute of Neurosciences and Medicine (INM) – Structural and Functional Organisation of the Brain (INM-1)
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Phone: +49 2461 61-2163
E-Mail: p.pieperhoff@fz-juelich.de
Contact for this Press Release:
Erhard Zeiss
Press Officer
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Phone: +49 2461 61-1841
E-Mail: e.zeiss@fz-juelich.de
