Doctors at Leuven University Hospital (UZ Leuven) can now detect signs of brain diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease, dementia and ALS (the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) much earlier thanks to a new scanner. It produces extremely detailed images of the brain, revealing changes even before patients experience any symptoms. “It’s as if someone who is short-sighted puts on glasses for the first time. A whole new world opens up.”
New brain scanner detects dementia and Parkinson’s Disease before first symptoms appear
Colin Clapson
Published:
UZ Leuven is the first hospital to use the new ‘NeuroExplorer’ PET scanner on patients. According to the researchers, the initial results show that the device is much more accurate than its predecessors.
‘This scanner is 20 times sharper than a standard PET scanner. It’s as if someone who is short-sighted is putting on glasses for the first time. A whole new world opens up,’ says Professor Koen Van Laere, Head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at UZ Leuven.
‘The NeuroExplorer is much sharper, which allows us to examine the brain and neck area in much greater detail. As a result, we can now detect brain abnormalities in very small brain nuclei and in the brainstem: until now, this has not been possible with any other imaging technique.’
Earlier intervention becomes possible
This can make a huge difference for patients. Many brain diseases actually begin years before the first symptoms become apparent. By the time someone starts experiencing memory problems or suffers from tremors and movement disorders, there are often already significant changes in the brain.
The new scanner should allow doctors to detect these changes earlier. ‘Neurosurgeons can then intervene sooner. There are already many examples of patients who have benefited from this, as very small tumours can be treated.’
‘Until now, we could only see those details in the brain after death. Obviously, it is important to obtain that information not just then, but as early as possible in the course of the disease.’
The technology can also speed up the development of new medicines. This is because researchers can directly monitor the effect a drug has. As a result, it becomes clearer more quickly which treatments work and which do not.
Not just for brain diseases
Although the greatest expectations lie with neurological disorders, the scanner is also being tested on other patients. A total of 30 research projects are currently underway. For example, a study is being conducted in Leuven involving people with conditions including tumours, movement disorders and inflammatory diseases.
The new scanner may even provide greater insight into psychiatric disorders. “We are very hopeful that we can now also investigate a number of brain regions associated with psychiatric disorders. In schizophrenia, for example, the central hub of the brain (the thalamus) is disrupted. That area is now visible and can yield important information,” says Van Laere.
Researchers want better to understand which changes in the brain are associated with a disease and which are part of normal ageing. That is why healthy volunteers are also being studied to gain a clearer picture of exactly what a ‘normal’ brain is.