Episode Details

Identifying reliable biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonism would have substantial impacts on clinical trials and clinical practice. A particularly active area of research is the development of novel molecular imaging biomarkers that can be used in combination with common neuroimaging approaches. Dr. Antonio Strafella discusses current practices for using molecular imaging biomarkers in research and in the clinic, the process of developing new biomarkers, as well as promising biomarkers that are in development. He also discusses limitations, implementation challenges, and the potential use of AI to enhance diagnostics in the future. Antonio is the Krembil-Rossy Chair in Molecular Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Professor in the Department of Medicine within the Division of Neurology at the Toronto Western Hospital (University Health Network, University of Toronto). He also serves as Director of Clinical Research and Translation with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University Toronto, and he is a movement disorder neurologist in the Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson’s Disease and Morton & Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic at the Toronto Western Hospital.

Mentioned in this episode:

Researchers are studying the link between sense of smell and brain health. People with and without Parkinson's can help by taking a scratch-and-sniff test. It’s free, mailed to your home and takes just 15 minutes to complete. mysmelltest.org/getstarted

This podcast episode was part of a limited series created by The Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2023 and 2024 for clinicians and researchers in our audience.  These episodes provide a deeper dive into exciting new scientific research in Parkinson’s disease, as well as innovative tools and valuable resources, through conversations with a variety of experts in the field. We hope you enjoy the conversation.