Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement, balance, speech, and eye movements. PSP is considered an atypical Parkinsonian syndrome, sharing some clinical characteristics with Parkinson's disease, but having distinct pathology. PSP is a form of four-repeat tauopathy, characterized by the abnormal accumulation of tau protein in the brain. This accumulation leads to neuronal degeneration, particularly in the brainstem.

PSP is marked by symptoms such as difficulty with balance and walking, frequent falls, stiffness, slow movements, and problems with speech and swallowing. A hallmark of the disease is eye movement abnormalities, especially difficulty moving the eyes up and down. Due to its similar symptoms, PSP is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease, but it progresses more rapidly and does not respond well to medications for Parkinson's disease.

Improving our understanding of reliable neuroimaging biomarkers may provide a path to accurate & early diagnosis and can enable appropriate disease management approaches, as well as facilitate the evaluation of novel therapeutics in clinical trials.