Neurodegenerative diseases and Aging – Daniel Ferreira Research Group

Our goal is to understand how pathologies affect the human brain, causing neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. The pathologies we primarily focus on are Lewy Body disease, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular brain injury. We are interested in both biological mechanisms and clinical applications. We develop and employ methods to understand the effects of aging and disease, including brain imaging techniques, fluid biomarkers, cognitive tests, and genetics

Part of the:

Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society

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Staff and contact
Research projects
Publications
Funding

Staff and contact

Group leader

Daniel Ferreira
Senior Lecturer | Docent
E-mail daniel.ferreira.padilla@ki.se

All members of the group

Enna Behrends
Research Assistant
E-mail enna.behrends@ki.se
Johan Bring
Affiliated to Research
E-mail johan.bring@ki.se
Nicolas Castellanos Perilla
Affiliated to Research
E-mail nicolas.castellanos.perilla@ki.se
Nira Cedres
Affiliated to Research
E-mail nira.cedres@ki.se
Stephanie Gravett
Phd Student
E-mail stephanie.gravett@ki.se
Annegret Habich
Postdoctoral Researcher
E-mail annegret.habich@ki.se
Cene Jerele
Affiliated to Research
E-mail cene.jerele@ki.se
Rakesh Kumar
Affiliated to Research
E-mail rakesh.kumar.2@ki.se
Rodrigo Moreno
Affiliated to Teaching/Tutoring
E-mail rodrigo.moreno@ki.se
Milan Nemy
Affiliated to Research
E-mail milan.nemy.2@ki.se
Javier Oltra González
Postdoctoral Researcher
E-mail javier.oltra@ki.se
Carmen Peña Bautista
Postdoctoral Studies
E-mail carmen.pena.bautista@ki.se
Andrea Pilotto
Affiliated to Research
E-mail andrea.pilotto@ki.se
Anna Rennie
Postdoctoral Researcher
E-mail anna.rennie@ki.se
Tanmayee Samantaray
Postdoctoral Studies
E-mail tanmayee.samantaray@ki.se
Julia Schumacher
Affiliated to Research
E-mail julia.schumacher@ki.se
Espen Trydal
Affiliated to Research
E-mail espen.trydal@ki.se
Jean Tyan
Phd Student
E-mail jean.lin.tyan@ki.se
Niloufar Zebarjadi
Postdoctoral Studies
E-mail niloufar.zebarjadi@ki.se

Research projects

Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB)

Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) is a type of neurodegenerative dementia which is often difficult to diagnose. The underlying pathology is present in around a fourth of dementia cases. We conduct world-leading research in DLB, with a focus on both biological and clinical questions. Our research includes international collaborations, but we also conduct local projects including data collection at Karolinska University Hospital within the "Find-DLB" project. The purpose of “Find-DLB” is to improve methods for detecting DLB in clinical practice. We have also started the Swedish Lewy Body Network together with Elisabet Londos (senior physician, professor at Lund University), to raise awareness and the knowledge about DLB across professionals, patients, relatives, and the Swedish society at large.

Featured publications:

1 Oltra et al https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38131463

2 Peña-Bautista et al https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37266333

3 Ferreira et al https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39804619

[an image about the Swedish LB Network and something reflecting our international connections]

Advanced neuroimaging of the cholinergic system

Neurons in the brain communicate with each other using neurotransmitters. One of them is acetylcholine. The group of neurons that use acetylcholine form the cholinergic system and are central for cognitive functions such as attention and memory. The cholinergic system is heavily affected in DLB and Alzheimer's disease. We have developed an innovative and advanced method to assess the human cholinergic system in vivo. By using a specific type of brain imaging that measures the movement of water molecules, we evaluate the integrity of the cholinergic pathways (e.g. projections of cholinergic neurons towards other parts of the brain). We have shown that this method can be an early marker of future disease development. We are now working on translating this method into clinical use.

Featured publications:

1 Nemy et al 2020 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32035186

2 Cedrés et al 2022 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35918153

3 Nemy et al 2023 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36288546

[a nice image from Milan or diffusion DTI]

Cognitive Aging, Subjective Cognitive Decline, and Cognitive Reserve

Cognition is a set of mental capacities such as memory, language, spatial orientation, etc. We investigate cognitive decline during “normal” aging but also in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. We investigate how cognitive performance is linked to biomarkers of brain pathology, degeneration of the brain, and clinical measures. We use objective cognitive tests but are also interested about how people self-perceive any cognitive decline. This has led to the concept of subjective cognitive decline, which can signal very early phases of neurodegenerative diseases. We also investigate protective factors against cognitive decline such as cognitive reserve and brain compensatory mechanisms.

Featured publications:

1 Zapater-Fajari et al 2023 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37708068

2 Rennie et al 2023 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37269645

3 Gonzalez-Burgos et al 2021 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33866353