Project of the Slovak Research and Development Agency (APVV) APVV-0431-12

Project duration: 10/2013 – 09/2016

Principal investigator: RNDr. Oliver Štrbák, PhD.

In 1992, Kirschvink et al. discovered biogenic magnetite nanoparticles in human brain tissue. Shortly afterwards, the elevated levels of these particles were connected with the presence of neurodegenerative processes in the brain tissue, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Huntington's disease (HD). It is proposed that a precursor of magnetite formation is a ferritin, which changes structure due to disrupted iron homeostasis. Moreover, the excess concentrations of ferritin in tissue can lead to so called iron-overloaded complications, which includes diabetes, cirrhosis, and heart disease. For successful diagnostics and therapy, it is necessary to have a diagnostics tool for early detection of pathological processes related to disrupted iron homeostasis. However, at present time such diagnostics tool does not exist. In neurodegenerative disorders, the diagnostics is restricted just to monitoring of neurological symptoms and the only 100% proof of disorder is autopsy. In diagnostics of ferritin there are two methods available in clinical practice: biopsy and from the blood serum. Unfortunately these methods are invasive, not accurate and mainly they cannot detect early stages of disorder. Since the iron in ferritin and magnetite particles strongly affects the signal during MRI examination (including low concentrations), this diagnostic technique is the perfect candidate for non-invasive diagnostics of early stages of iron-connected disorders. The ability of MRI to detect body iron has been already proposed, however the most important problem - body iron quantification in vivo, has not been solved yet.

Therefore, the aim of the proposal is to create a diagnostic tool for the non-invasive quantification of the biogenic iron with the help of MRI techniques. This would be useful in clinical practice for the early detection of pathological processes connected to the disrupted iron homeostasis.

Selected publications:

Strbak O, Masarova M, Gogola D, Szomolanyi P, and Frollo I, Influence of saline and glucose molecules to contrast properties of clinically used MRI contrast agents, Measurement 69 109-114 (2015)

Gogola D, Strbak O, Krafcik A, Skratek M, and Frollo I, Magnetic resonance imaging of the static magnetic field distortion caused by magnetic nanoparticles, Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 380 261-265 (2015)

Strbak O, Krafcik A, Teplan M, Gogola D, Kopcansky P, and Frollo I, Biogenic magnetite nanoparticle ensemble use in MRI diagnostics, Acta Physica Polonica A 126(1) 388-389 (2014)

Strbak O, Kopcansky P, Timko M and Frollo I, Single biogenic magnetite nanoparticle physical characteristics. A biological impact study, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics 49(1) 457-462 (2013) 

Gogola D, Krafcik A, Strbak O, and Frollo I, Magnetic resonance imaging of surgical implants made from weak magnetic materials, Measurement Science Review 13(4) 165-168 (2013)

Strbak O, Kopcansky P and Frollo I, Biogenic magnetite in humans and new magnetic resonance hazard questions, Measurement Science Review 11(3) 85-91 (2011)