Study Rationale:
Existing non-invasive imaging methods can only measure steady-state metabolic concentrations. There is a need to more precisely dynamic measure brain metabolite levels, especially after pharmaceutical interventions.
Hypothesis:
We hypothesize that by using hyperpolarized carbon-13 labeled metabolic compounds, we will be able to characterize real-time metabolic conversion differences in patients with PD in comparison to healthy control subjects.
Study Design:
We will pilot the use of hyperpolarized carbon-13 MRI to characterize pyruvate conversion over the entire brain and the substantia nigra, first in healthy volunteers and then evaluate the techniques in early PD patients.
Impact on Diagnosis/Treatment of Parkinson’s disease:
This will be the first time that real-time brain metabolic profiling of PD is obtained, which has the potential for diagnosis of early onset of PD as well as immediate assessment of metabolic tissue condition after pharmaceutical intervention.
Next Steps for Development:
This pilot study will provide the initial evaluation of spatial resolution needs and signal quality of HP-13C MRI in its application to patients with PD. The results would yield effect size of the metabolic changes in patients and additional engineering needs, leading to more informed experimental design on future studies and potential clinical trials.