DMI in dementia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Improving the diagnosis of dementia using deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI)
IRAS ID
285529
Contact name
Tomasz Matys
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Reduction in glucose metabolism in the regions of the brain affected by neurodegeneration is an early diagnostic biomarker in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the current method used to visualise these changes, 18F-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET), has not been routinely adopted in clinical dementia assessment due to a combination of factors including its high cost, the need for specialist equipment and radiation exposure.
Deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) is a novel method of imaging glucose metabolism that can be implemented on a standard MRI scanner and is based on oral administration of a safe, non-radioactive glucose isotope. DMI has not been tested in dementia but we hypothesise that should be able to demonstrate regional changes in glucose uptake in AD similar to 18F-FDG-PET. Moreover, DMI provides data on glucose turnover by detecting its downstream metabolites, which could offer additional diagnostic information and further insights into mechanisms of dementia.
In this pilot study we propose to assess the feasibility of using DMI as a diagnostic tool in the workup of dementia.
REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/NE/0232
Date of REC Opinion
7 Oct 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion