Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
University of Winnipeg
$25,000.00
In vivo imaging of the central nervous system
FY 2007-08
Summary
I am applying bioimaging techniques to study the development of central nervous system diseases in rodent models of human diseases. The funding requested in this proposal will be used for studying two specific disorders: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) the most common neurological disease affecting young adults in Canada and Alzheimer's disease (AD), a condition affecting almost half of all people older than 85, using techniques I have developed.MS is a disease that is characterized by damage to the myelin sheath that surrounds the axons of nerve fibres. This sheath is very similar in function to the insulation surrounding electrical wiring, allowing the smooth passage of impulses within the brain. Lesions form when the myelin is damaged, but no one has yet uncovered the relationship between the size, number or location of these lesions and the severity of MS symptoms. A patient with very mild symptoms can have anything from a very few to a large number of lesions and vice-versa. In this study I will follow mouse models of MS throughout the course of their disease, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to visualize lesions in the myelin of nerves along the visual pathway of some mice and in the nerves of the spinal cord of others. At each stage of the imaging procedure, I will compare the images to the speed at which impulses travel along specific nerve pathways, to the size of these impulses and to the symptoms that the mice exhibit.Every AD patient develops sticky protein deposits, called beta-amyloid plaques, in the brain. Because they were only recently made visible in a living brain, no one knows for certain if the plaques are the cause or symptom of AD. No one knows how they develop or how they affect symptoms. My study proposes to use MRI techniques I developed to follow the development of beta-amyloid plaques deep inside the brains of live mouse models of AD, and to compare the number and size of the plaques to behavioural symptoms. I will also determine why only some AD plaques are visible.
Program
Discovery Grants Program - Individual
Recipient
Location
Manitoba, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
299690-2007
Name nom
Martin, Melanie
Department département
Physics
Organization id
21
Institution établissement
University of Winnipeg
Province en
Manitoba
Province fr
Manitoba
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2007
Competition year année de concours
2007
Award amount
25000
Program id
RGPIN
Program name en
Discovery Grants Program - Individual
Program name fr
Programme de subventions à la découverte - individuelles
Group en
Discovery grants programs
Group fr
Programmes de subventions à la découverte
Committee code
21
Committee name en
Interdisciplinary
Committee name fr
Interdisciplinaire
Area of application code
1211
Area of application group en
Advancement of knowledge
Area of application group fr
Avancement des connaissances
Area of application en
Medical and health sciences
Area of application fr
Sciences médicales et de la santé
Research subject code
1900
Research subject group en
Biomedical engineering
Research subject group fr
Génie biomédical
Research subject en
Biomedical engineering
Research subject fr
Génie biomédical
Partie
1
Nb partie
1
Application title
In vivo imaging of the central nervous system
Keyword
NA
Application summary
I am applying bioimaging techniques to study the development of central nervous system diseases in rodent models of human diseases. The funding requested in this proposal will be used for studying two specific disorders: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) the most common neurological disease affecting young adults in Canada and Alzheimer's disease (AD), a condition affecting almost half of all people older than 85, using techniques I have developed.MS is a disease that is characterized by damage to the myelin sheath that surrounds the axons of nerve fibres. This sheath is very similar in function to the insulation surrounding electrical wiring, allowing the smooth passage of impulses within the brain. Lesions form when the myelin is damaged, but no one has yet uncovered the relationship between the size, number or location of these lesions and the severity of MS symptoms. A patient with very mild symptoms can have anything from a very few to a large number of lesions and vice-versa. In this study I will follow mouse models of MS throughout the course of their disease, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to visualize lesions in the myelin of nerves along the visual pathway of some mice and in the nerves of the spinal cord of others. At each stage of the imaging procedure, I will compare the images to the speed at which impulses travel along specific nerve pathways, to the size of these impulses and to the symptoms that the mice exhibit.Every AD patient develops sticky protein deposits, called beta-amyloid plaques, in the brain. Because they were only recently made visible in a living brain, no one knows for certain if the plaques are the cause or symptom of AD. No one knows how they develop or how they affect symptoms. My study proposes to use MRI techniques I developed to follow the development of beta-amyloid plaques deep inside the brains of live mouse models of AD, and to compare the number and size of the plaques to behavioural symptoms. I will also determine why only some AD plaques are visible.
