Unraveling Neuroenergetic Dysfunction: High-Resolution Glycogen MRI from Inborn Metabolic Disorders to Neurodegeneration

Speaker: Nirbhay N. Yadav

Venue: Lecture Room 122, Floor 1,No.6 Teaching Building, Yuquan Campus

Abstract: The central nervous system (CNS) heavily relies on glucose for its energy needs and for providing the building blocks needed for signaling, maintenance, and repair. Because the brain has high, continuous energy requirements and very limited fuel reserves, glycogen acts as a dynamic glucose-derived buffer and supports local energy demands in times of need. Disruptions in the synthesis or degradation of glycogen can result in several different functional disorders. For example, glycogen storage diseases (GSDs) are a group of rare inherited diseases caused by genetic mutations that encode enzymes that regulate the synthesis or breakdown of glycogen. Some types of GSDs have severe CNS consequences including difficulty in breathing and gait, accelerated neurodegeneration, and brain atrophy. In more common neurodegenerative disorders, altered glycogen levels may reflect neuroenergetic stress when neuronal glucose utilization and mitochondrial function are impaired. Treatment options for altered glycogen metabolism are under development, but there is a lack of non-invasive imaging tools to assess disease progression and treatment efficacy. In this talk, I will detail the development of a non-invasive MRI-based biomarker to imaging glycogen across the brain and show its applications to GSDs and Parkinson's disease.