Translational neuroimaging in intellectual disability: evaluation of molecular changes associated with aging in Down Syndrome

• Grant number: 18/15167-1
• Support type: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• Duration: February 01, 2019 - January 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Radiology
• Cooperation agreement: APAE São Paulo
• Principal researcher: Daniele de Paula Faria
• Grantee: Daniele de Paula Faria
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Assoc. researchers: Carlos Alberto Buchpiguel ; Caroline Cristiano Real Gregório ; Emerson Nobuyuki Itikawa ; Fábio Luís de Souza Duran ; Fabio Luiz Navarro Marques ; Geraldo Busatto Filho
• Associated scholarship(s): 21/02272-4 - Evaluation of 11C-PK11195 metabolites in venous blood of people with Down Syndrome, BP.IC; 20/08015-0 - Behavioral and histological evaluation of an animal model of Down Syndrome, BP.IC; 19/15654-2 - Evaluation of molecular changes associated with aging in the Down Syndrome animal model, BP.DD

Abstract

Down Syndrome (DS) or trisomy 21 is the most common genetic cause of mild to moderate intellectual disability in the world. The life expectancy of DS patients has increased in the last decades and, therefore, the incidence of dementia, especially Alzheimer's Disease (AD) increases in this population, making aging a new and important area of study in DS. Molecular neuroimaging allows in vivo and noninvasive studies of cellular and molecular processes, and therefore, is a very important tool to understand the aging process. This project proposes the creation of a new nucleus of research - translational neuroimaging in intellectual disability - with the initial objective of studying the aging process in DS by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging using specific radiopharmaceuticals for evaluation of neuroinflammation, deposition of beta-amyloid plaques and alterations in white matter, which are known to be altered in postmortem tissue analysis but not yet evaluated longitudinally by in vivo imaging. The study of these parameters will be done in a temporal and translational way, that is, evaluating, longitudinally, the changes throughout the life of DS animal model, and also in different age groups in DS people, as a proof-of-concept study. The characterization of changes in the profile of these processes, as well as the correlation between them, may lead to the identification of critical moments for initiation and therapeutic follow-up, or even development of new therapeutic interventions. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BUSATTO FILHO, GERALDO; DURAN, FABIO LUIZ DE SOUZA; SQUARZONI, PAULA; COUTINHO, ARTUR MARTINS NOVAES; ROSA, PEDRO GOMES PENTEADO; TORRALBO, LETICIA; PACHI, CLARICE GAMEIRO DA FONSECA; DA COSTA, NAOMI ANTUNES; PORTO, FABIO HENRIQUE DE GOBBI; CARVALHO, CLEUDIANA LIMA; BRUCKI, SONIA MARIA DOZZI; NITRINI, RICARDO; FORLENZA, ORESTES VICENTE; LEITE, CLAUDIA DA COSTA; BUCHPIGUEL, CARLOS ALBERTO; DE PAULA FARIA, DANIELE. Hippocampal subregional volume changes in elders classified using positron emission tomography-based Alzheimer's biomarkers of beta-amyloid deposition and neurodegeneration. Journal of Neuroscience Research, v. 99, n. 2, p. 481-501, FEB 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.