Cure8 regulatory brief
Researchers are using a new MRI-based index (ANDI) to look for early brain changes linked to Parkinson’s disease and dementia in groups at higher risk, including people with inflammatory bowel disease. If successful, the tool could help screen and track individuals for trials and future treatments.
Researchers and clinicians interested in neurodegeneration, Parkinson’s disease/DLB, imaging biomarkers, and the gut–brain connection; patients and advocates for IBD who follow research on long-term neurological risk.
This is a funded NIH Reporter project describing the Automated NeuroDegeneration Index (ANDI), a machine-learning tool using 3T diffusion MRI free-water imaging to quantify neurodegeneration.
The study will apply ANDI longitudinally (baseline and 24-month follow-up) in two at-risk cohorts—early-stage REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—and compare them to healthy controls.
Major aims include measuring longitudinal neurodegeneration with diffusion free-water imaging + ANDI, relating ANDI to lab-based motor assessments (Purdue Pegboard, tremor, limb movement/force control), and relating ANDI to cortico-striatal functional integrity via task-based fMRI. The project is presented as a funded research project (project-record).
It focuses on imaging biomarker development and software dissemination; it does not report results. The text supports that IBD is being studied as an at-risk cohort based on gut–brain axis hypotheses. ANDI will be made publicly accessible per the project description. this is a project description (funded study) rather than a peer-reviewed report of findings.
No results or clinical recommendations are provided here; the protocol-like summary outlines planned assessments and aims.
This entry is a project-record describing planned, funded research; it does not present study results. ANDI is a software/method-development effort using diffusion MRI free-water analysis and will include a 24-month follow-up. Interpret as a protocol summary, not evidence of clinical effects.
Review the original publication for the complete reporting, methods, and context.
Funding disclosed by the source: National Institute on Aging - R01AG100181 - $597,264
This Cure8 brief is based on source text from the linked article. Cure8 is informational only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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