News
[ANR] Congratulations to Hervé Boutin & Marco Pasi on securing an ANR PRCI grant with Hsin-Hsi Tsai (NTU Neuroscience) !
Dates
from October 7, 2026 to November 7, 2026
INSIGHT-CAA will explore neuroinflammation in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy to better predict haemorrhagic risk & cognitive decline and pave the way for new therapies
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA) is a major health issue that contributes to the cerebrovascular disease and cognitive dysfunction. Neuroinflammation (NI) has emerged as a potential contributor to CAA and hence as a promising therapeutic target. This project’s objectives are to 1) determine if patients with cortical superficial siderosis (cSS) exhibit greater meningovascular inflammation, driving vessel fragility, spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) occurrence/recurrence, and cognitive decline, than those without cSS; 2) generate robust translational evidence to develop new anti-inflammatory therapies in CAA.
Clinical study: We will enrol 100 patients (50 per country) with probable CAA (Boston v2.0) and amyloidopathy confirmed by amyloid PET and/or CSF. All will undergo baseline 3T MRI to evaluate leptomeningeal enhancement, standardized neuropsychological battery, and TSPO-PET to quantify NI, and 24-month follow-up 3T MRI and neuropsychology. We will compare TSPO-PET and MRI metrics at baseline and MRI-changes at 24 months in cSS+ vs cSS– patients to link these to incident/recurrent ICH and cognitive trajectories. Harmonized France-Taiwan protocols ensure quality, diversity, and generalizability. Our integrated approach (PET, MRI and neuropsychology) will define NI phenotypes associated with hemorrhagic risk and cognitive decline.
Preclinical-translational study: In CAA mouse models, we will use 1) TSPO-PET to track vessel-associated inflammation, 2) perform post-mortem quantification of TSPO and key neuroinflammatory markers to 3) validate imaging-tissue relationships, providing mechanistic support for the clinical findings and 4) test anti-inflammatory treatment strategies.
INSIGHT-CAA, a 48-month Franco–Taiwanese translational study, brings together 2 teams with excellent, longstanding and complementary research track record, to deliver actionable evidence to justify a future immunomodulatory trial aimed at preventing ICH and cognitive decline.
Clinical study: We will enrol 100 patients (50 per country) with probable CAA (Boston v2.0) and amyloidopathy confirmed by amyloid PET and/or CSF. All will undergo baseline 3T MRI to evaluate leptomeningeal enhancement, standardized neuropsychological battery, and TSPO-PET to quantify NI, and 24-month follow-up 3T MRI and neuropsychology. We will compare TSPO-PET and MRI metrics at baseline and MRI-changes at 24 months in cSS+ vs cSS– patients to link these to incident/recurrent ICH and cognitive trajectories. Harmonized France-Taiwan protocols ensure quality, diversity, and generalizability. Our integrated approach (PET, MRI and neuropsychology) will define NI phenotypes associated with hemorrhagic risk and cognitive decline.
Preclinical-translational study: In CAA mouse models, we will use 1) TSPO-PET to track vessel-associated inflammation, 2) perform post-mortem quantification of TSPO and key neuroinflammatory markers to 3) validate imaging-tissue relationships, providing mechanistic support for the clinical findings and 4) test anti-inflammatory treatment strategies.
INSIGHT-CAA, a 48-month Franco–Taiwanese translational study, brings together 2 teams with excellent, longstanding and complementary research track record, to deliver actionable evidence to justify a future immunomodulatory trial aimed at preventing ICH and cognitive decline.
Contact :
Marco Pasi : marci.pasi@univ-tours.fr
