Pratishtha Chatterjee
Determining and targeting alpha-synuclein pathology in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease
Award
Royce Simmons Foundation Mid-Career Research Fellowship and Dementia Advocates Award
Status
Completed
Start Date
1 March 2024
About the project
The accurate diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies is challenging particularly in its early stage. In dementia with Lewy bodies, abnormal clumps of alpha-synuclein (aS) are present in the brain cells. In some people with Alzheimer’s disease, these aS clumps co-exist in the brain cells along with typical Alzheimer’s disease protein abnormalities. Recent evidence indicates co-existence of aS clumps with typical Alzheimer’s disease protein abnormalities accelerates impairment of a person’s thinking abilities. Therefore, detection of aS clumps is not only important for dementia with Lewy bodies but also for Alzheimer’s disease. The presence of aS clumps is detectable in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer’s disease using spinal fluid, however spinal taps required for spinal fluid collection are invasive. Therefore, this project aims to identify unique blood patterns reflecting aS clumps in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer’s disease via a technique called proteomics.
The aS clumps also disrupt transmission of messages in the brain. Dr Chatterjee aims to identify compounds that will prevent or reduce formation of aS clumps. This will be done by conducting drug repurposing screens for drugs that already have regulatory approval for other diseases, as an initial step towards the development of a therapeutic strategy to halt further aS clumping. This project will ultimately influence accurate and timely diagnosis for precision medicine in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer’s disease and take an initial step towards identifying therapeutic agents against aS clumping.
Publications and presentations resulting from award
Chatterjee P, Ivanic S, Southon A, McCarthy C, Patel S, Christensen M, Darby D, Bush AI, Ayton S, Werden E, Brodtmann A. Real world diagnostic performance of plasma p-tau217 for early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in a cognitive disorders tertiary care setting. Journal of Alzheimer’s disease. 2025; 108 (1), 387-396
Ivanic S, Vogel AP, Chatterjee P, Baird J, Darby D, Werden E, Gao L, Darzins P, Patel SK, Burke I, Morris T, Churilov L, Bice J, Mielke MM, Brodtmann A. Neurofilament light chain and voice acoustics in dementia diagnosis (NAVAIDD): Protocol for a cohort study assessing the real-world diagnostic utility of blood and digital biomarkers in clinical settings. Journal of Alzheimer’s disease. 2025; 9:25424823251395325.
Asih PR, Morris CW, Wang H, Pedrini S, Goozee K, Laws SM, Chatterjee P, Taddei K, Sohrabi HR, Rainey-Smith SR, Lim CK, Guillemin GJ, Karikari TK, Masters CL, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Ashton NJ, Martins RN. Plasma soluble TREM2 is associated with plasma pTau-181 and pTau-231 in cognitively normal older adults at risk of Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2026;109(2):832-844.
Where are they now?
Dr Pratishtha Chatterjee is a Senior Research Fellow in the NHRMC Centre of Research Excellence in Enhanced Dementia Diagnosis at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne.
