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Scans of brain and spinal cord energy in neurological diseases and healthy aging

Uses advanced brain scans to study nerve energy in several neurological diseases.

Key facts

Who runs it
Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille
Where
Marseille, FranceSee the site
Trial code
Registry title
Integrating Metabolism, Connectivity, and Mesoscale Imaging at Ultra-high Field to Decipher Mechanisms of Resilience and Neurodegeneration in Neurological Diseases and Healthy Aging
Status
Recruiting
People taking part
700 people, planned
Started
19 May 2025
Expected to end
18 May 2030
Type of study
Observational, 10 groups
Treatments tested
  • Imaging Techniques (MRI 3T & 7T, Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Imaging)
Record updated
1 October 2025

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for adults with certain brain or nerve diseases, and healthy adults, to have brain and spinal cord MRI scans.

Age
18 to 90 years
Sex
Women and men can join.
Disease stage
Multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, MOG antibody disease, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, ALS, epilepsy, mild traumatic brain injury, or healthy aging. Each disease has its own entry rules.
Earlier treatment
People on treatments that would interfere with the study cannot join. The record says these are set for each disease.

Main reasons for not taking part

  • Pregnancy
  • Anything that makes an MRI unsafe, such as claustrophobia, metal in the body, a pacemaker or severe kidney failure
  • Chronic psychiatric illness, severe dementia or cognitive problems that hinder taking part
  • Allergy to Dotarem (contrast agent) for people with neuroinflammatory disease
  • Other brain diseases such as stroke, brain trauma or encephalitis

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 12 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Age:Female or male, aged 18 years or older
  • Health Status: No uncontrolled general diseases, such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, liver failure, severe or untreated high blood pressure, or severe rhythm disorders. No chronic psychiatric illnesses, including severe dementia
  • MRI Compatibility: No contraindications for MRI exams (e.g., claustrophobia, metal foreign bodies, pacemakers, severe kidney failure)
  • Social Security Coverage: Participants must have social security coverage
  • Informed Consent: The participant must have read, understood, and signed the informed consent after being adequately informed about the study
  • Specific Disease Criteria (For Disease Groups): Specific inclusion criteria apply to each pathology, such as MS (based on McDonald criteria), NMOSD (Wingerchuk 2015), Alzheimer's (meeting NINCDS-ADRDA criteria), etc

Who cannot take part

  • Any participant who refuses to sign the informed consent or is unable to do so due to mental or physical conditions
  • Contraindications for MRI:Participants with contraindications for MRI exams, such as claustrophobia, metal foreign bodies, pacemakers, or severe kidney failure
  • Medical Conditions: Known allergy to Dotarem (contrast agent) for neuroinflammatory patients. Individuals with severe renal insufficiency or other conditions that prevent MRI scanning; Cognitive or Psychiatric Issues:; Chronic psychiatric conditions, including severe dementia or cognitive dysfunction that could hinder participation; Legal or Institutional Restrictions:; Adults under legal protection (e.g., under guardianship or curatorship). Individuals deprived of their liberty; Other Medical Conditions:; Individuals with neurological diseases such as ischemic accidents, brain trauma, or encephalitis; Patients on treatments that would interfere with the study, as outlined for each disease; Allergy to Contrast Agent:; Allergy to Dotarem for neuroinflammatory patients (MS, NMOSD, etc.); Inability to Adhere to Protocol:; Participants who are unable or unwilling to comply with the study protocol
  • Pregnancy: Pregnant women are excluded from the study
  • Inability to Provide Informed Consent:
  • Refusal of MRI: Individuals who refuse to undergo brain MRI

Check if you might fit

Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.

  • Are you between 18 and 90 years old?

Where in France

  • Chu TimoneMarseille, FranceContact: Jan-Patrick STELLMANNTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

The MESO7 study is a prospective observational research project designed to investigate the mechanisms of resilience and neurodegeneration in neurological diseases and healthy aging. It leverages advanced multiparametric brain and spinal cord imaging at high (3T) and ultra-high magnetic fields (7T) to assess structural, functional, metabolic, and mesoscale changes in the central nervous system (CNS). Particular emphasis is placed on sodium (23Na-MRI) and phosphorus (31P-MRI) imaging, along with layer-dependent brain connectivity analysis.

Read full original descriptionShow less

The primary objective is to evaluate the impact of neuronal energy failure, measured via sodium concentration, on functional and structural reorganization in both healthy individuals and patients with various neurological conditions. Directed brain network models will be constructed from MRI data to quantify the connectivity strength (in- and out-degree) of cortical nodes. These connectivity metrics will be correlated with sodium concentrations to assess energy failure and its role in network reorganization. Longitudinal follow-up over two years is planned for subgroups with clinically progressive diseases.

Secondary objectives include decoding metabolic, microstructural, and functional signatures of successful aging at the laminar level; characterizing disease-specific patterns of cortical and spinal microstructure associated with physical and cognitive dysfunction; describing longitudinal mesoscale and metabolic changes; and generating representative normative imaging datasets for the neuroscience community.

The study plans to enroll a total of 540 patients across 9 neurological conditions:Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders (NMOSD), MOG Antibody Disease (MOGAD), Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), temporal and non-temporal epilepsy, and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI),in addition to 160 age- and sex-matched healthy controls, totaling 700 participants. Imaging and clinical assessments will be performed at the CEMEREM center at Timone University Hospital, AP-HM, Marseille, France.

Each participant will undergo multiparametric brain and spinal cord MRI, including DTI, BOLD, MP2RAGE, SWI, quantitative sodium and phosphorus imaging, and functional assessments including neuropsychological testing, visual and motor function tests. Disease-specific assessments such as OCT, evoked potentials, and disability scores (e.g., EDSS for MS) will also be included when appropriate.

The study is expected to improve understanding of CNS adaptation mechanisms and support the development of more accurate diagnostic and prognostic tools for neurodegenerative diseases

The 10 groups in the trial

  • Healthy controls

    (160 participants, split by age and sex)

    Treatment: Imaging Techniques (MRI 3T & 7T, Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Imaging)

  • Multiple Sclerosis

    Treatment: Imaging Techniques (MRI 3T & 7T, Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Imaging)

  • Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD)

    Treatment: Imaging Techniques (MRI 3T & 7T, Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Imaging)

  • Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody Disease (MOGAD)

    Treatment: Imaging Techniques (MRI 3T & 7T, Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Imaging)

  • Alzheimer's Disease

    Treatment: Imaging Techniques (MRI 3T & 7T, Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Imaging)

  • Parkinson's Disease

    Treatment: Imaging Techniques (MRI 3T & 7T, Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Imaging)

  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

    Treatment: Imaging Techniques (MRI 3T & 7T, Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Imaging)

  • Temporal Epilepsy

    Treatment: Imaging Techniques (MRI 3T & 7T, Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Imaging)

  • Non-Temporal Epilepsy

    Treatment: Imaging Techniques (MRI 3T & 7T, Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Imaging)

  • Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI)

    Treatment: Imaging Techniques (MRI 3T & 7T, Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Imaging)

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
Integrating Metabolism, Connectivity, and Mesoscale Imaging at Ultra-high Field to Decipher Mechanisms of Resilience and Neurodegeneration in Neurological Diseases and Healthy Aging
Plain-language title
Scans of brain and spinal cord energy in neurological diseases and healthy agingGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
Fit questions
Built from NCT07202494, who can take part
Record updated
1 October 2025