Welcome to the Petropoulos Lab!
Neurological disorders (NDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and the second largest cause of mortality after heart disease according to the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (Carroll WM. Lancet Neurology. 2019;18(5):418-419). Lifestyle factors, environmental drivers, and the changing demographic of ageing add up to increasing prevalence and demand for specialized healthcare services.
What can we do about the neurological tsunami?
Sensitive and resourceful biomarkers of pathology are key to enable early diagnosis and prognosis, provide mechanistic insights and facilitate the development of effective therapies. There is currently a dearth of clinically applicable objective biomarkers in Neurology.
In the Petropoulos Lab, we use state-of-the-art, non-invasive ocular techniques to establish novel biomarkers of neurovascular pathology across NDs (multiple sclerosis, stroke, migraine, Parkinson’s disease, and other conditions). Our research spans across three key areas:
- Corneal confocal microscopy
The cornea is endowed with rich sensory innervation, which can be quantified at the level of the subbasal nerve plexus in a rapid and non-invasive manner by corneal confocal microscopy (CCM). Our research in central NDs suggests that CCM can act as a biomarker of early and progressive axonal degeneration, which is associated with poor patient outcomes. Additionally, we have recently employed CCM to explore the link between neuroinflammation and debilitating skin conditions like rosacea.
Sample CCM images from a healthy age-matched control (A) and patients with multiple sclerosis (B, C) with varying degrees of neurodegeneration (axons-green arrows) and inflammation (corneal immune cells-yellow and red arrows). Adapted from: Petropoulos et al. Therapeutic Advanced in Neurological Disorders. 2023;16: 17562864231204974.
- Optical coherence tomography/angiography
Anatomically and developmentally, the retina is part of the central nervous system and amongst others includes the retinal ganglion cells resembling typical central neurons and the blood-retina barrier, which closely resembles the blood-brain barrier. Using conventional fundoscopy, retinal vascular manifestations of central disorders have been previously reported. We aim to utilize optical coherence tomography angiography to assess the role of small vessel disease in central NDs.
Sample OCTA images from a healthy control demonstrating the retinal vascular plexus visualized at different depths. Adapted from: Petropoulos Lab.
- Visual function
Multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) is a visual electrophysiology test to assess retinal function. Although retinal pathology is common amongst neurological patients, retinal function has been less rigorously tested. We aim to utilize point-of-care mfERG in NDs to shed more light into the structure-function relationship.
Teamwork
Collaboration is a fundamental aspect of science. To achieve our goals, we collaborate with a vast network of clinicians, scientists and engineers, nationally and internationally, to whom we are deeply grateful for their continuous support.
Publications [PubMed Link]