# Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging for Measurement of Neuroinflammation in Parkinson Disease

> **NIH VA I01** · ST. LOUIS VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · —

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Parkinson disease (PD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease affecting a large number of U.S. veterans
that causes significant motor symptoms such as slow movement and tremor, as well as non-motor symptoms
such as cognitive decline and dementia. Development of therapies to slow PD progression requires validated
biomarkers of pathologic processes that predict progression. The brain’s inflammatory response is increasingly
recognized as an important source of pathology in PD, and imaging biomarkers of neuroinflammation in PD are
needed. A novel Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technique, Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging (DBSI), is
sensitive to intermingled changes in brain microstructure, and has the capacity to measure the component of
inflammatory cells within a volume of tissue, and distinguish this component from neurodegenerative pathology
or anatomic variation. DBSI MRI has been recently shown to quantify neuroinflammation in multiple sclerosis
and Alzheimer’s disease. Here, we will develop and validate this measure in PD. We will determine how the
DBSI measure of neuroinflammation compares to quantitative immunohistochemistry in already-collected
antemortem MRI data with corresponding postmortem fixed brain tissues from people with PD (Aim 1).
Prospectively, in PD and control participants we will compare DBSI measures to the positron emission
tomography (PET) marker of neuroinflammation, PBR28 (Aim 2), and to the activation profile of T cells in blood
and cerebrospinal fluid (Aim 3). We will correlate cross-sectional and longitudinal DBSI measures with clinical
features of motor and cognitive disease progression (Aim 4). In this manner, we will develop a strong
mechanistic understanding of changes in both neuroimaging and T cell biomarkers of inflammation, and how
these relate to motor and cognitive decline in PD. This project holds great promise for identifying and validating
biomarkers of neuroinflammation for prediction of PD progression, patient stratification for trials, and evaluation
of new treatments targeting the immune system in PD. Because DBSI MRI only requires sequences that are
already Food and Drug Administration approved and available on existing clinical MRI scanners, it could be
quickly scaled to clinical applications and clinical trials.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10731359
- **Project number:** 5I01CX002316-03
- **Recipient organization:** ST. LOUIS VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** ROBERT L WHITE
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-10-01 → 2027-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10731359

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10731359, Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging for Measurement of Neuroinflammation in Parkinson Disease (5I01CX002316-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10731359. Licensed CC0.

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