Seminar: Biological mechanisms driving neurodegeneration in Multiple Sclerosis

Dr. Emilie POIRION* will give a talk, Monday, January 27th, 2020 at 2:30pm in the Amphithéâtre 3 (Faculté de Chirurgie Dentaire - Strasbourg).

Title: Biological mechanisms driving neurodegeneration in Multiple Sclerosis - An in vivo approach combining positron emission tomography and high field magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract: Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory and demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, is the leading cause of non-traumatic neurological disability in young adults in western countries. It is now well accepted that neurodegeneration is the key mechanism underlying disability progression in this disease. The biological mechanisms leading to neurodegeneration remains poorly understood in-vivo, but pathological post-mortem studies have pointed the potential contribution of a persisting inflammation involving the innate immune system together with a failure of endogenous repair in white matter and cortical lesions.

Positron emission tomography (PET), a quantitative nuclear medicine technology that uses labeled compounds recognizing specific biological targets, offers the unique opportunity to directly assess key biological mechanisms involved in MS pathophysiology, and to bridge the gap between the extensive knowledge acquired from experimental and pathological studies and in-vivo imaging.

The combination of PET imaging probes with MRI sequences will enable to detangle pathophysiologic mechanisms that drive disability in MS, and will contribute to the development of new therapies.

*
Sorbonne Universités, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM,
Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Inserm UMR S 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris, France
CEA, Université Paris Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Neurospin, Gif-sur-Yvette, France