Turku Alzheimer Imaging Laboratory

Group Leader

Juha Rinne, MD, PhD

Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku PET Centre, University of Turku

juha.rinne@tyks.fi

Personal Page

Group Website

Aims

The aim of our research is to investigate early risk factors (both genetic and life-style related) of memory disorders and especially Alzheimer’s Disease. We collaborate with the local AURIA biobank, which enables us to recruit study participants according to a specific risk genotype for Alzheimer’s disease. We also collaborate with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare to recruit individuals with midlife metabolic risk factors and thus at an increased risk for late-life dementia. We are specialized in multimodal neuroimaging where we combine radiotracers with different targets in the brain (for example beta-amyloid, activated microglia, synaptic vesicles) and MRI imaging to examine how early cerebral changes of memory disorders associate with each other.

 

Group Members

Senior Researchers:

  • Anniina Snellman, PhD
  • Laura Ekblad, MD, PhD

Postdoctoral Researchers:

  • Sini Toppala, MD, PhD

Doctoral Students:

  • Mikko Koivumäki, MSc
  • Elina Pietilä, MD
  • Teemu Kipinoinen, MD
  • Petra Parviainen, MSc
  • Claudia Tato Fernandez, MSc

 

Collaborators & Partners

  • AURIA Biobank, Turku Finland
  • Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
  • University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Åbo Akademi, Turku, Finland
  • University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
  • University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
  • Imperial College, London, UK

 

Main Funding

  • Sigrid Juselius Foundation
  • Academy of Finland
  • Finnish Governmental Research Funding (VTR)
  • Juho Vainio Foundation
  • Diabetes Research Foundation
  • Emil Aaltonen Foundation
  • Orion Research foundation
  • Paulo Foundation

 

Selected Publications

  1. Ekblad LL, Tuisku J, Helin S, Koivumäki M, Rinne JO, Snellman A. Insulin Resistance and body mass index are associated with TSPO PET in cognitively unimpaired elderly. J Cereb Blood Flow and Metabolism. In press.
  2. Mummery CJ, Börjesson-Hanson A, Blackburn DJ, Vijverberg EGB, De Deyn PP, Ducharme S, Jonsson M, Schneider A, Rinne JO, Ludolph AC, Bodenschatz R, Kordasiewicz H, Swayze EE, Fitzsimmons B, Mignon L, Moore KM, Yun C, Baumann T, Li D, Norris DA, Crean R, Graham DL, Huang E, Ratti E, Bennett CF, Junge C, Lane RM. Tau-targeting antisense oligonucleotide MAPTRx in mild Alzheimer’s disease: a phase 1b, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Nat Med. 2023 Apr 24. doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02326-3. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37095250
  3. Snellman A, Ekblad LL, Tuisku J, Koivumäki M, Ashton NJ, Lantero-Rodriguez J, Karikari TK, Helin S, Bucci M, Löyttyniemi E, Parkkola R, Karrasch M, Schöll M, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Rinne JO. APOE ε4 gene dose effect on imaging and blood biomarkers of neuroinflammation and beta-amyloid in cognitively unimpaired elderly. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2023 Apr 4;15(1):71. doi: 10.1186/s13195-023-01209-6.
  4. Toppala S, Ekblad LL, Viitanen M, Rinne JO, Jula A. Impaired Early Insulin Response to Glucose Load Predicts Episodic Memory Decline: A 10-Year Population-Based Cohort Follow-Up of 45-74-Year-Old Men and Women. J Alzheimers Dis. 2023 Jan 28. doi: 10.3233/JAD-220894.
  5. Rinne JO, Jucaite A, Celényi Z, Farde L. Glia Imaging Shows Clinical Utility in Differentiating Parkinson’s Disease from Multiple System Atrophy. Mov Disord. 2022 Jun 6. doi: 10.1002/mds.29078.
  6. Kipinoinen T, Toppala S, Rinne JO, Viitanen MH, Jula AM, Ekblad LL. Association of Midlife Inflammatory Markers With Cognitive Performance at 10-Year Follow-up. Neurology. 2022 Nov 15;99(20):e2294-e2302. 17.
  7. Jansen WJ, Janssen O, Tijms BM, Vos SJB, Ossenkoppele R, Visser PJ; Amyloid Biomarker Study Group, Aarsland D, Alcolea D, Altomare D, …, Ekblad LL, Rinne JO, et al, Zetterberg H. Prevalence Estimates of Amyloid Abnormality Across the Alzheimer Disease Clinical Spectrum. JAMA Neurol. 2022 Mar 1;79(3):228-243. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.521
  8. Snellman A, Ekblad LL, Koivumäki M, Lindgren N, Tuisku J, Perälä M, Kallio L, Lehtonen R, Saunavaara V, Saunavaara J, Oikonen V, Aarnio R, Löyttyniemi E, Parkkola R, Karrasch M, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Rinne JO. ASIC-E4: Interplay of Beta-Amyloid, Synaptic Density and Neuroinflammation in Cognitively Normal Volunteers With Three Levels of Genetic Risk for Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease – Study Protocol and Baseline Characteristics. Front Neurol. 2022 Feb 9;13:826423. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.826423.
  9. Ekblad L, Rebelos E. Insulin Resistance and the Brain-Novel Insights Combining Metabolic Research and Neuroscience. Metabolites. 2022 Aug 24;12(9):780. doi: 10.3390/metabo12090780.
  10. Goikolea J, Gerenu G, Daniilidou M, Mangialasche F, Mecocci P, Ngandu T, Rinne J, Solomon A, Kivipelto M, Cedazo-Minguez A, Sandebring-Matton A, Maioli S. Serum Thioredoxin-80 is associated with age, ApoE4, and neuropathological biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease: a potential early sign of AD. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2022 Feb 24;14(1):37. doi: 10.1186/s13195-022-00979-9.
  11. Toppala S, Ekblad LL, Tuisku J, Helin S, Johansson JJ, Laine H, Löyttyniemi E, Marjamäki P, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, Jula A, Viitanen M, Rinne JO. Association of Early β-Amyloid Accumulation and Neuroinflammation Measured With [11C]PBR28 in Elderly Individuals Without Dementia. Neurology. 2021 Mar 23;96(12):e1608-e1619. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000011612. Epub 2021 Jan 29.
  12. Lindgren N, Kaprio J, Karjalainen T, Ekblad L, Helin S, Karrasch M, Teuho J, Rinne JO, Vuoksimaa E. Episodic memory and cortical amyloid pathology: PET study in cognitively discordant twin pairs. Neurobiol Aging. 2021 Dec;108:122-132. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.08.016. Epub 2021 Sep 3
  13. Jucaite A, Cselényi Z, Kreisl WC, Rabiner EA, Varrone A, Carson RE, Rinne JO, Savage A, Schou M, Johnström P, Svenningsson P, Rascol O, Meissner WG, Barone P, Seppi K, Kaufmann H, Wenning GK, Poewe W, Farde L. Glia Imaging Differentiates Multiple System Atrophy from Parkinson’s Disease: A Positron Emission Tomography Study with [11 C]PBR28 and Machine Learning Analysis. Mov Disord. 2021 Oct 5. doi: 10.1002/mds.28814.
  14. Vuoksimaa E, Palviainen T, Lindgren N, Rinne JO, Kaprio J. Accuracy of Imputation for Apolipoprotein E ε Alleles in Genome-Wide Genotyping Data. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Jan 3;3(1):e1919960. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.19960.
  15. Toppala S, Ekblad LL, Lötjönen J, Helin S, Hurme S, Johansson J, Jula A, Karrasch M, Koikkalainen J, Laine H, Parkkola R, Viitanen M, Rinne JO. Midlife Insulin Resistance as a Predictor for Late-Life Cognitive Function and Cerebrovascular Lesions. J Alzheimers Dis. 2019;72(1):215-228. doi: 10.3233/JAD-190691.