Coordonnateur: Frédéric Blanc
Co-coordonnateur: Jean-Christophe Cassel
General scopes and previous achievements:
Our current research interests include biomarkers of Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using brain MRI, PET, CSF and blood, particularly at the early stages, and neural basis of cognition and behaviour in cognitive neurological diseases using imaging. We have obtained a PHRC (Alpha Lewy MA) to search for biomarkers of DLB using a cohort of patients with DLB and AD (250 subjects). We recently discovered that atrophy (cortical thickness) of insula is an excellent biomarker for DLB at the early stage.
Future projects in NEUROGENYCS:
Translational project research:
- Development with LNCA of a novel tg mouse model of dementia with Lewy body (DLB), in which human SNCA (hSNCA) is overexpressed on a human ApoE4 allele (hApoE4) genetic background (the “APOLEWY” model). Comparison of the DLB model to AD models, and patients with DLB and AD using clinical evaluation, cognitive tests, CSF and MRI.
- Neural basis of hallucinations, cognitive fluctuations and epilepsy in DLB with the image processing teams of ICube
- Search of biomarkers of DLB and AD using infrared and Raman microspectroscopies (INSERM U1115 and UMR 7140) on tissues from AD and DLB brain mice, AD and DLB humans and AD/DLB CSF.
Biomarkers in national and international cohorts:
- Research of biomarkers for DLB at the early stage (Mild and subjective cognitive impairment) in national cohort Memento (2400 patients, collaboration with CHU of Bordeaux).
- Creation of a European cohort of DLB patients (collaboration with Karolinska Institute, and Newcastle University).