FDG-PET/ MRI to study gait in PD V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Developing a dynamic multimodal imaging method to study gait and balance in people with Parkinson’s disease
IRAS ID
299047
Contact name
Lynn Rochester
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NA, NA
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, days
Research summary
How we walk (our gait) changes in Parkinson’s disease(PD) causing falls and poor quality of life. We don’t understand how the brain controls walking very well because it is difficult to measure brain activity during walking. This affects development of treatments to improve mobility.
We have developed a way to measure brain activity during walking using Position Emission Tomography (PET). A form of glucose (FDG) is injected into a vein and trapped by the brain and is detected as brain activity using PET. Carrying out a standing and walking task immediately after each injection allows areas of the brain associated with walking to be separated. Using a brain scanner that combines Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with PET allows us to examine brain structure and connections between different areas of the brain (networks) at the same time. We have successfully carried out this study in healthy older adults.
Twenty people with PD will be invited to complete two tasks: standing and walking. Walking and muscle activity will be measured during each task using small devices stuck to the skin. FDG will be injected before each task and combined PET-MRI scans will be taken after each task. Specific brain areas related to walking will be separated from those related to standing alone. Measuring walking and muscle activity with small devices allows us to relate this to brain activity.
Knowing what brain areas do not work well during walking will help us develop treatments and rehabilitation to focus on these areas.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/YH/0204
Date of REC Opinion
20 Aug 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion