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In Vivo Imaging of Neuroinflammation in Acute Brain Injury

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Immunological Mechanisms and Therapies in Brain Injuries and Stroke

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Translational Stroke Research ((SSTSR,volume 6))

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Abstract

Neuroinflammation is a dynamic process which undergoes significant changes in spatial distribution and intensity within hours and days after an acute brain injury. At present non-invasive in vivo imaging methods like positron emission tomography (PET) offer the only possibility to capture this dynamics longitudinally in the same subject and the entire brain. Amongst the multitude of cellular and non-cellular mechanisms which constitute the complex neuroinflammatory reaction, microglia and macrophages have been the primary targets for developing non-invasive imaging methods. This chapter is an introduction into the basic principles of microglia imaging with PET, its application to ischaemic stroke and traumatic brain injury in both animal models and clinical imaging in patients. Future developments towards magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of neuroinflammation and imaging of specific enzyme activity in the neuroinflammatory cascade are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Alexander Thiel

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  1. Alexander Thiel
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Correspondence to Alexander Thiel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Jun Chen

  2. Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Xiaoming Hu

  3. Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, Oregon, USA

    Mary Stenzel-Poore

  4. Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, USA

    John H. Zhang

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Thiel, A. (2014). In Vivo Imaging of Neuroinflammation in Acute Brain Injury. In: Chen, J., Hu, X., Stenzel-Poore, M., Zhang, J. (eds) Immunological Mechanisms and Therapies in Brain Injuries and Stroke. Springer Series in Translational Stroke Research, vol 6. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8915-3_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8915-3_13

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