Alterity Therapeutics Announces Publication Demonstrating the
Utility of Quantitative MRI as a Biomarker for Multiple System Atrophy
- Peer-reviewed study from the bioMUSE Natural History Study shows advanced MRI method
detects disease-specific iron accumulation that supports diagnosis and correlates with clinical
severity in patients with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) -
- Findings support QSM as an objective imaging biomarker to enable earlier diagnosis and
assess iron-modulating therapies in MSA, including Alterity's lead candidate ATH434 -
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA AND SAN FRANCISCO, USA - 11 May 2026: Alterity Therapeutics (ASX:
ATH, NASDAQ: ATHE) ("Alterity" or "the Company"), a biotechnology company dedicated to
developing disease modifying treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the
publication of a peer-reviewed study in NeuroImage, a leading journal in human brain imaging,
demonstrating that quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) MRI can detect disease-specific
iron accumulation in the brains of patients with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), distinguish MSA
from Parkinson's disease, and track clinical disease severity - including in early-stage disease.
The publication, entitled "Quantitative Imaging of Iron Dysregulation in Multiple System
Atrophy," utilizes longitudinal data generated through Alterity's Biomarkers of Progression in
Multiple System Atrophy (bioMUSE) Natural History Study, together with additional cross-
sectional MSA, Parkinson's Disease (PD), and healthy control data. The study was led by
investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in collaboration with Alterity Therapeutics,
and is available online (here).
"The bioMUSE study was designed to give us tools we could implement in our clinical program,
and QSM is one of the valuable tools we identified," said David Stamler, M.D., Chief Executive
Officer of Alterity. "We used this imaging approach in our Phase 2 trial of ATH434, where it
improved diagnostic accuracy and provided objective evidence of target engagement. This peer-
reviewed publication validates our approach and reinforces the role of QSM as a biomarker for
iron-modulating therapies in MSA."
The study analyzed high-resolution structural and QSM MRI data from 10 MSA patients followed
prospectively for 12 months, and cross-sectional data from 28 MSA patients, 43 PD patients, and
23 age-matched healthy controls.
Key findings include:
Utility of Quantitative MRI as a Biomarker for Multiple System Atrophy
- Peer-reviewed study from the bioMUSE Natural History Study shows advanced MRI method
detects disease-specific iron accumulation that supports diagnosis and correlates with clinical
severity in patients with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) -
- Findings support QSM as an objective imaging biomarker to enable earlier diagnosis and
assess iron-modulating therapies in MSA, including Alterity's lead candidate ATH434 -
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA AND SAN FRANCISCO, USA - 11 May 2026: Alterity Therapeutics (ASX:
ATH, NASDAQ: ATHE) ("Alterity" or "the Company"), a biotechnology company dedicated to
developing disease modifying treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the
publication of a peer-reviewed study in NeuroImage, a leading journal in human brain imaging,
demonstrating that quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) MRI can detect disease-specific
iron accumulation in the brains of patients with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), distinguish MSA
from Parkinson's disease, and track clinical disease severity - including in early-stage disease.
The publication, entitled "Quantitative Imaging of Iron Dysregulation in Multiple System
Atrophy," utilizes longitudinal data generated through Alterity's Biomarkers of Progression in
Multiple System Atrophy (bioMUSE) Natural History Study, together with additional cross-
sectional MSA, Parkinson's Disease (PD), and healthy control data. The study was led by
investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in collaboration with Alterity Therapeutics,
and is available online (here).
"The bioMUSE study was designed to give us tools we could implement in our clinical program,
and QSM is one of the valuable tools we identified," said David Stamler, M.D., Chief Executive
Officer of Alterity. "We used this imaging approach in our Phase 2 trial of ATH434, where it
improved diagnostic accuracy and provided objective evidence of target engagement. This peer-
reviewed publication validates our approach and reinforces the role of QSM as a biomarker for
iron-modulating therapies in MSA."
The study analyzed high-resolution structural and QSM MRI data from 10 MSA patients followed
prospectively for 12 months, and cross-sectional data from 28 MSA patients, 43 PD patients, and
23 age-matched healthy controls.
Key findings include: