In vivo measurement of plaque burden in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Purpose To demonstrate an MRI method for directly visualizing amyloid‐β (Aβ) plaques in the APP/PS1 transgenic (tg) mouse brain in vivo, and show that T_1ρ relaxation rate increases progressively with Alzheimer's disease (AD)‐related pathology in the tg mouse brain. Materials and Methods We obtained in vivo MR images of a mouse model of AD (APP/PS1) that overexpresses human amyloid precursor protein, and measured T_1ρ via quantitative relaxometric maps. Results A significant decrease in T_1ρ was observed in the cortex and hippocampus of 12‐ and 18‐month‐old animals compared to their age‐matched controls. There was also a correlation between changes in T_1ρ and the age of the animals. Conclusion T_1ρ relaxometry may be a sensitive method for noninvasively determining AD‐related pathology in APP/PS1 mice. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2006.