Assessing the value of MRI for the diagnosis of tauopathies

MRI and tauopathies Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD) are two subtypes of Frontotemporal Lobular Degeneration characterized by cerebral accumulation of tau protein (tauopathies). These diseases present classically with motor symptoms that include postural instability, difficulty in ocular movements, and limb control. However, in recent years it has been shown that they can … Read more

Victor Montal defends his Doctoral Thesis

Víctor Montal Blancafort has presented today his Doctoral Thesis entitled “Complex neuroimaging changes in metabolite, cortical structures and regional vulnerabilities in the Alzheimer disease continuum“. The thesis, directed by Dr. Juan Fortea and supervised by Dr. Alberto Lleó, delves into new neuroimaging measures that help establishing the dynamic changes that occur throughout Alzheimer’s disease. Given … Read more

Jordi Pegueroles defends his Doctoral Thesis

Jordi Pegueroles - Sant Pau Memory Unit - Barcelona

In January 18th 2022, Jordi Pegueroles Monllau presented  his doctoral thesis entitled “The role of biomarkers in the current classification systems for Alzheimer’s Disease“. The thesis has been supervised by Dr. Juan Fortea and tutored by Dr. Alberto Lleó. This work has focused on the accuracy of different biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and their definition … Read more

What is the value of brain atrophy in frontotemporal dementia?

Atrophy - Illán-Gala - FTD - Sant Pau Memory Unit Barcelona

Atrophy and frontotemporal dementia The behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia is a frequent cause of neurodegenerative dementia and the first cause of Frontotemporal Lobular Degeneration. Patients with the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia present a progressive personality change that begins years before diagnosis and can be confused with other neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. Identifying atrophy … Read more

Structural changes in the brain of patients with Alzheimer’s begin 20 years before the symptoms onset

Microestructura Alzheimer - Sant Pau Memory Unit - Barcelona

Structural brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease Brain alterations in Alzheimer’s disease patients begin years before symptoms appear and a clinical diagnosis can be made. The neuroimaging team in our group has developed a technique that measures the movement of water particles in the cerebral cortex and makes it possible to detect structural changes in the … Read more

Overlapping microstructural changes in the brain of patients with ALS and frontotemporal dementia

ELA - DFT microestructura - Sant Pau Memory Unit - Barcelona

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) Until a few years ago, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS was considered a neurodegenerative disease that caused a progressive loss of strength with preservation of intellectual functions. However, in recent years we have learned that patients with ALS can frequently present with cognitive and personality changes that … Read more