Several teams at Paris Brain Institute are working on progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), either directly or indirectly. The team led by Professors Marie Vidailhet and Stéphane Lehéricy is studying abnormal movement and brain imaging. Professor Richard Levy’s FrontLAB team is interested in behavioral symptoms associated with frontal lobe damage, such as apathy. A study conducted by Dr Marc Teichmann and Dr Antony Valero-Cabre has identified the beneficial effect of transcranial magnetic stimulation on certain symptoms of PSP. Olivier Colliot and Stanley Durrleman’s ARAMIS team is developing artificial intelligence algorithms that would enable earlier diagnosis of PSP by differentiating patients with PSP from other Parkinsonian syndromes based on brain imaging tests.
The Major Differences between PSP and Parkinson’s Disease
| Clinical signs | Parkinson’s disease | Progressive supranuclear palsy |
| Postural instability (falls) | ✔ Delayed | ✔ Early |
| Muscle stiffness | ✔ Asymmetrical | ✔ Symmetrical |
| Vertical oculomotor disorders | ✗ | ✔ |
| Cognitive problems (reasoning, attention, etc.) | Inconstant/Delayed | ✔ Frequent |
| Fixed gaze | ✗ | ✔ |
| Symptoms on both sides of the body | ✔Asymmetrical | ✔Symmetrical |
