Participants
Abdelrahman Ghonaim
The CARP Study seeks to evaluate the clinical utility of Motor Unit MRI (MUMRI) in identifying fasciculation activity in ALS/MND patients using standard NHS MRI scanners (in Newcastle, UK). Building on prior research that demonstrated significantly elevated fasciculation rates in patients with ALS versus healthy controls in multiple body regions via MUMRI—e.g. biceps, paraspinals, lower legs—and correlations with surface EMG measures, this study will replicate those imaging parameters under real-world conditions.
In addition to fasciculation frequency and distribution, CARP will also assess intramuscular fat percentage, a known marker of muscle denervation and degeneration. The goal is to determine how scanner make, magnet strength, and practical clinical constraints affect MUMRI’s sensitivity and specificity for detecting disease activity, and whether it can become a diagnostic and monitoring tool in everyday neuromuscular clinics.