Projekt/Project COGDEC
Poslanstvo // Mission
Povzetek Projekta: Razvoj znanja na področju metod slikanja možganov in raziskovanja kognitivnega upada
S staranjem začnejo kognitivne sposobnosti upadati, kar se pozna na zmožnosti samostojnega opravljanja vsakodnevnih opravil in s tem tudi na kakovosti življenja. Pravočasno odkritje upada kognitivnih sposobnosti od starosti primernega do stanja, ki potencialno lahko vodi v začetek blagega kognitivnega upada (BKU), je bistvenega pomena za vzpostavitev učinkovite zdravniške oskrbe. Poznamo več načinov slikanja možganov, ki omogočajo prepoznavanje biomerkerjev na področju blagega kognitivnega upada, Alzheimerjeve bolezni in ostalih oblik demenc.
Medicinska fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani (MF) ima na voljo različno raziskovalno opremo, ki omogoča slikanje možganov, med njimi MRI (Magnetno resonanco), EEG (Elektroencefalografijo) in PET (Pozitronska emisijska tomografija). Projekt COGDEC bo omogočil prenos najnaprednejšega znanja uporabe metod slikanja možganov iz dveh mednarodno priznanih raziskovalnih institucij (Medicinska Univerza Graz in Katoliška Univerza Leuven) in s tem omogočil nadaljnji razvoj raziskav na MF na področju prepoznave biomarkerjev za kognitivni upad.
Avtor: TŠ
Project Summary: Advancing the Knowledge in Brain Imaging Methods and Assessing Ageing-Related Cognitive Decline
Cognitive function declines with ageing, when a person loses the ability to live independently and enjoy a reasonable quality of life. Detection of the transition from a pattern of normal, ageing-related decline to a state associated with the beginning of mild cognitive impairment is crucial for providing long term effective medical support and a better quality of life to ageing people. Biomarkers can provide critical insight into the emergence and progression of a cognitive decline, and there are several brain imaging methods appropriate for optimal development of biomarkers for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer’s diseases and other variations of dementia.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana has a broad range of research equipment for brain imaging, including MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and EEG (electroencephalography), and can in addition access other commonly used brain imaging techniques, i.e. PET (positron-emission tomography). The COGDEC project will transfer current state of the art methods in brain imaging, from the two internationally-leading organisations (Medical University of Graz and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), to enable further development of advanced brain imaging methods to study cognitive decline at the UL and sustain the newly formed research and technology network for the foreseeable future.
Author: TŠ