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Tracy is the MRI Research Manager at the NZ Brain Research Institute (NZBRI) in Christchurch. As MRI Research Manager, Tracy oversees all imaging at the NZBRI. This provides him with the opportunity to become involved in a wide range of neurological research, including child development, mild traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, neurodegenerative diseases, and more. As a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine with the University of Otago, his primary focus is on the development and application of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques to advance our understanding of cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease. The ‘Christchurch Longitudinal Parkinson’s Study’ has been a large team effort, with contributions from Dr Tracy Melzer, Dr Toni Pitcher, Dr Daniel Myall, Leslie Livingstone, Dr Michael MacAskill, Professor John Dalrymple-Alford, and Professor Tim Anderson. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative movement disorder that affects approximately 11,000 people in New Zealand; this number will double in the next 25 years. The diagnosis relies on movement problems, such as rigidity, tremor, and slowness of movement. For many patients however, the most debilitating aspect of the disease is cognitive impairment (thinking problems), which sometimes progresses to dementia. Yet, the time between a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis and the onset of dementia can vary between 1 and 20+ years. Frustratingly, we currently have no satisfactory means of foretelling when or if an individual will develop severe cognitive decline. These issues have motivated our research at the New Zealand Brain Research Institute (NZBRI) over the past decade. The NZBRI, located in Christchurch, is a research institute with members from the Universities of Otago and Canterbury, as well as the Canterbury District Health Board. The ‘Christchurch Longitudinal Parkinson’s Study’ commenced in 2007, with an initial grant from the Neurological Foundation, under the direction of Professors Tim Anderson (Neurologist, University of Otago, Christchurch) and John Dalrymple-Alford (Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury). Our study includes people with Parkinson’s disease, as well as individuals without Parkinson’s disease controls. Various cognitive abilities, eye movements and various clinical signs have been assessed. We have also scanned participants’ brains with advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). We now have one of the world’s largest longitudinal studies of this kind. To date, we have collected data from 319 people with Parkinson’s disease and 64 controls. We have seen the majority of eligible participants every two years. In total, 271 of our participants have had at least one MRI scan, with more than 650 total scans acquired over the duration of the study. Recently, we added a different kind of brain imaging to assess the accumulation of amyloid protein, which has been linked to the development of various neurological diseases. The Christchurch Longitundinal Parkinson's Disease Study BY DR TRACY MELZER 16 Headlines