MRI TECHNIQUES FOR SMALL ANIMAL NEURO-IMAGING

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. A transgenic mouse model (P301S, PS19 line) was recently developed for studying the characteristic tauopathy of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Histological characterization of the neuropathology shows signs of synapse loss, hippocampal microgliosis, filamentous tau inclusions, and eventual neuron loss. The goal of this study is to characterize these mice non-invasively using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with the potential to translate these techniques into the clinical setting for early diagnosis of AD, as well as for tracking treatment response. A variety of MRI techniques may be suited for this task, including diffusion tensor MRI (DTI), high resolution MRI, arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion MRI, T1p MRI, and chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) imaging. This project is currently at an early stage of personnel training and preliminary scanning. In-vivo protocols for small rodent neurological imaging will need to be optimized. Resulting measurements and images will be compared with histology and immunohistochemistry characterization. It is our hope to provide widely accessible MRI techniques for small rodent imaging, as well as the discovery of non-invasive biomarkers for AD.