Project Details
Supervisor
Professor Elizabeta Mukaetova-Ladinska
Project area or title
Discovering blood-based RNA biomarkers for improving clinical diagnosis of Dementia with Lewy bodies
Description
There is an urgent clinical need for identifying blood-based biomarkers that can accurately differentiate between the two most common dementias, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB).
Plasma, platelets, and small extracellular vesicles (SEV) carry RNA that reflect molecular changes in brain. Differentially expressed RNA including microRNAs from DLB and AD participants (n=30/group) will be identified using next-generation RNA-sequencing from Platelet-rich-plasma, Platelet-free-plasma, and plasma SEV. The most parsimonious combination of RNA that can accurately differentiate DLB from AD will be identified using a novel AI-algorithm. A prototypic clinically adaptable multiplex RNA assay will be designed using the combination.
Theme
Dementia
University
University of Leicester