Neuroimaging Core

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ABSTRACT – ARTFL LEFFTDS Longitudinal FTLD: NEUROIMAGING CORE Brain imaging has taken on critical roles in dementia research, including its use for diagnosis and staging of multiple neurodegenerative disorders and enrichment of study groups for clinical trials. In the earliest stages of neurodegenerative disease, when symptoms have not yet developed, imaging and other biomarkers may be the only disease indicators that can be used to quantify drug effects in clinical trials, and imaging may ultimately guide use of approved treatments. The goal of this project is to create a neuroimaging core for the ARTFL LEFFTDS Longitudinal FTD (ALLFTD) project. The core will ensure optimal quality and efficient, innovative use of brain images collected for the project by designing and ensuring faithful application of a standardized acquisition protocol across the 19 clinical sites and promoting the application of advanced imaging technology in the FTLD field. We will design acquisition protocols that optimally utilize the scanner capabilities for the advanced sequences at each study site and allow harmonization of images across the study. All scans, along with the quality control information, will be made available to the public through the Laboratory of Neuroimaging (LONI). We will provide innovative technology and resources for understanding the contribution of MAPT, GRN or C9orf72 genes to neurodegeneration in FTLD and reliable estimates of changes in cortical volume in asymptomatic and symptomatic mutation carriers as well as patients with sporadic FTLD, in preparation for future clinical trials. We will provide resources for establishing the topographic distribution of brain structural changes across the FTLD spectrum, and work with LONI to maintain an archive of images and establish appropriate processes to ensure ethical and efficient access to the data. The Neuroimaging Core will pursue the following aims: 1) Establish and maintain a harmonized MRI acquisition protocol for acquisition and quality control of T1, FLAIR, T2, diffusion, ASL-perfusion, and task free functional MRI across 19 participating sites and supply MRI scans for research projects and the research community, while protecting patient confidentiality. 2) Operate a standardized quality control, image processing and data analysis program. 3) Supply processed cross-sectional and longitudinal data including regional cortical volume measurements and longitudinal change in cortical volume on serial MRIs for ALLFTD Projects 1 and 2, and also share these data with the research community. 4) Consult with ALLFTD and outside researchers and share research tools to facilitate use of imaging data for analysis. The leaders of this proposed neuroimaging core have extensive experience with image analysis and leadership of multicenter imaging efforts, including the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), which set the standard for multisite imaging studies in dementia. This will help to ensure smooth conduct of the imaging activities for ALLFTD.