SODIUM MRI OF THE BRAIN OF PATIENTS WITH ALZHEIMER?S DISEASE

这个子项目是众多研究子项目之一

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. This research involves development of Sodium MR Imaging for detecting changes in sodium in the Beta-Amyloid Plaques. Alzheimers Disease (AD) is a devastating and relatively common disease resulting in loss of memory and mental faculties in the affected elderly individual. Upwards of 2 million elderly Americans have AD and this results in a total health care cost of >$50 billion dollars annually. There is significant interest in the diagnostic imaging of AD for the goal of improved diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of therapeutic responses to treatment. Pathologically, AD is marked in part by a loss of neural cells and formation of amyloid-beta plaques, primarily in the frontal and parietal lobes. We hypothesize that these changes would lead to an increase in sodium signal by two mechanisms.