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Detection of amyloid plaques in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease by magnetic resonance imaging
Author(s) -
Zhang Jiangyang,
Yarowsky Paul,
Gordon Marcia N.,
Di Carlo Giovanni,
Munireddy Sanjay,
van Zijl Peter C.M.,
Mori Susumu
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.10730
Subject(s) - magnetic resonance imaging , pathology , hippocampus , amyloid (mycology) , genetically modified mouse , histology , magnetic resonance microscopy , alzheimer's disease , nuclear magnetic resonance , medicine , biology , transgene , disease , neuroscience , radiology , spin echo , gene , biochemistry , physics
We performed three‐dimensional, high‐resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of fixed mouse brains to determine whether MRI can detect amyloid plaques in transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. Plaque‐like structures in the cortex and hippocampus could be clearly identified in T 2 ‐weighted images with an image resolution of 46 μm × 72 μm × 72 μm. The locations of plaques were confirmed in coregistration studies comparing MR images with Congo red‐stained histological results. This technique is quantitative, less labor‐intensive compared to histology, and is free from artifacts related to sectioning process (deformation and missing tissues). It enabled us to study the distribution of plaques in the entire brain in 3D. The results of this study suggest that this method may be useful for assessing treatment efficacy in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Magn Reson Med 51:452–457, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.