Developing imaging biomarkers to assess and understand disease progression in MND.
Principal Investigator: Dr Samira Bouyagoub
Lead Institution: University of Sussex
MND Association Funding: £275,547
Funding dates: December 2025 - November 2028
About the project
An important challenge in MND research is understanding how the disease spreads between the brain and spinal cord. However, it is difficult to study cells of the nervous system in living people. Imaging studies, such as specialised forms of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are a useful tool for observing nerve cell damage, but they have mainly been used to study the brain in MND, not the spinal cord. In this study, the researchers will use advanced MRI imaging techniques to measure damage to nerve cells in both the brain and spinal cord of people with MND at two six-month intervals. This will allow them to observe changes over time and monitor how the disease spreads between the brain and spinal cord. They will combine the imaging data with clinical observations and measurements of neurofilament light protein, which is a well-established biomarker of nerve cell damage closely linked to the speed of progression in MND.
What could this mean for MND research?
This study aims to develop imaging biomarkers of nerve damage in MND that can be used alongside existing biomarkers to more accurately assess disease progression in people with MND. It is hoped that the research will increase our understanding of how MND progresses, which could be used to improve early diagnosis and treatment of MND in the future.
Project code: 2477-791