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When
13 December 2024
10:00 to 12:00
Where

Veröld - Hús Vigdísar

Room 104

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    Title of thesis: Identifying Brain Imaging Biomarkers for Early Diagnosis of Parkinson-Plus Syndromes

    Student: Mengyu Li

    Doctoral committee:
    Dr. Lotta María Ellingsen, Professor at the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Iceland
    Dr. Magnús Örn Úlfarsson, Professor at the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Iceland
    Dr. Steinunn Þórðardóttir, Specialist in geriatrics and internal medicine, Hrafnista.

    Abstract

    About 5-8% of individuals over the age of 60 have dementia. With our aging population this number is likely to increase, making dementia one of the most important threats to public health in the 21st century. Studies have highlighted the complexity of dementia and predicted that therapeutic approaches based on isolated disease features will not be successful. Better characterization of brain atrophy due to individual causes is urgently required to select biomarkers and therapeutic targets that are meaningful to each disease. In this work we will focus on Parkinson-plus syndromes, a group of neurodegenerative diseases that present with the classical features of Parkinson's disease (PD) but with additional features that distinguish them from PD. These include dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and multiple system atrophy (MSA), with DLB reported as the second most common form of dementia following Alzheimer’s disease.

    Here we aim to Develop a deep learning based automated brain segmentation and labeling algorithm specific for DLB, PSP, and MSA imaging biomarkers; Compute volumetric measures as biomarkers that robustly characterize the brain atrophy seen in DLB, PSP, and MSA; Carry out pilot studies on Parkinson-plus patients with a known diagnosis and compare our biomarkers with current gold standard.

    If successful, our work can lead to novel diagnostic strategies and insights into the pathophysiology of dementia

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    Buses 14, 1, 6, 3 and 12 stop at the University of Iceland in Vatnsmýri. Buses 11 and 15 also stop nearby. Let's travel in an ecological way!

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