Abstract
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia characterized by abnormal violent behaviors during REM sleep and the loss of normal REM sleep muscular atonia potentially arising from the locus subcoeruleus (LsC) which is part of the tiny pontine structure called locus coeruleus/subcoeruleus complex (LC/LsC). RBD is considered a prodromal stage of α-synucleinopathies. The main hallmark of isolated/idiopathic RBD (iRBD) is REM sleep without atonia. Further, iRBD patients are at high risk of developing overt parkinsonism such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy. PD is considered the second most frequent neurodegenerative disorder in the world after Alzheimer's disease. Some idiopathic patients with PD manifest RBD after the onset of motor symptoms. The main neuropathological hallmark of PD is α-synuclein aggregation and the progressive depletion of neuromelanin-containing dopaminergic neurons and iron accumulation in the substantia nigra (SN). Neuromelanin-sensitive MRI technique can quantify neuromelanin changes and quantitative susceptibility maps (QSM) and R2* can detect brain iron distribution. Nonetheless, the regional progression of nigral iron changes in patients with iRBD and PD (with or without RBD) is debated. In this talk, I will give an overview of progression markers using quantitative MRI and the role of deep learning in understanding the brain changes in iRBD and PD.
Short Bio
Dr. Rahul Gaurav is a Scientist with more than a decade of research experience in Paris, France. He works with the Movement Investigations and Therapeutics (MOV'IT) team and the Center for NeuroImaging Research (CENIR) at the Paris Brain Institute (ICM), France. He holds a Doctorate in Neuroscience using Neuroimaging and AI from the Doctoral School of Brain Behavior and Cognition, Sorbonne Université. He has authored/co-authored over 30 scientific papers in conferences and journals and has given over 20 international guest lectures and talks.