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VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2 • JUNE 2023 Full issue »

Students explore cutting-edge modalities in neuroimaging course

The MDS course on “Neuroimaging in Parkinsonism: From diagnosis to therapeutical approaches” was organized by the Italian Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Society (LIMPE-DISMOV) in collaboration with the MDS Neuroimaging Study Group. More than 50 delegates from across Italy and abroad attended in Napoli, March 2-3, 2023.

The program of this two-day intensive course was specifically aimed at residents, neurologists, and health professionals who are interested in focusing on the application of multimodal neuroimaging in movement disorders, featuring an international faculty of research, scientific and clinical experts in the field.

The scientific committee designed this course to provide an in-depth grounding in different cutting-edge neuroimaging modalities, such as positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in dedicated sessions.

Advances in these neuroimaging techniques were discussed to understand the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease and related movement disorders (i.e. other neurodegenerative parkinsonisms as well as normal pressure hydrocephalus), to support the diagnosis, monitor disease progression, and provide new potential therapeutic targets.

Indeed, lectures comprehensively covered concepts and practical uses of each technique, from neurophysiological backgrounds to potential image-guided interventions, with a view toward their use in clinical settings as well as future applications.

Participants were also asked to share their knowledge and skills by submitting abstracts to the scientific committee. Thirteen attendees were selected for a live poster session, in which each speaker had the opportunity to discuss the most relevant outcomes of the study with other participants, who in turn had to appraise and rate each presentation. Two young speakers, Dr. Jacopo Pasquini (Italy) and Dr. Maria Augustina Ruiz Yanzi (Spain), were awarded from the audience for the relevance and quality of their studies.

With a great engagement of the audience in each session and stimulating debates with the experts, this course offered a unique environment in which attendees from different countries had the chance to develop their understanding in this fast-growing field.