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Detecting Amyloid-β Plaques in Alzheimer’s Disease

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Magnetic Resonance Neuroimaging

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 711))

Abstract

One of the major neuropathological changes characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is deposits of beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in neocortical and subcortical regions of the AD brain. The histochemical detection of these lesions in postmortem brain tissue is necessary for definitive diagnosis of AD. Methods for their in vivo detection would greatly aid the diagnosis of AD in early stages when neuronal loss and related functional impairment are still limited and would also open the opportunity for effective therapeutic interventions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) theoretically provides the spatial resolution needed to resolve amyloid-β plaques. Although currently limited for clinical applications due to unfavorable long acquisition times, MRI has been used to visualize Aβ plaques in AD mouse models. The ability to detect amyloid-positive brain lesions in vivo using non-invasive imaging would allow to track disease progression and to monitor the efficacy of potential therapies in disease-modifying studies using transgenic models resembling AD pathology. Here, we provide MRI protocols for in vivo (mouse) and ex vivo (AD tissue samples) amyloid plaque imaging and the procedure for correlating these with thioflavin-S and iron-staining histology. Current challenges and limitations are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Dr. Irene Knüsel and Dr. Martin Herzig for careful reading of the manuscript and providing their comments on AD mouse models and histology.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Christof Baltes & Felicitas Princz-Kranz

  2. Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Markus Rudin

  3. Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Markus Rudin

  4. Pharmaceuticals Division, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland

    Thomas Mueggler

Authors
  1. Christof Baltes
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  2. Felicitas Princz-Kranz
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  3. Markus Rudin
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  4. Thomas Mueggler
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Mueggler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, King's College London, Coldharbour Lane 125, London, SE5 9NU, United Kingdom

    Michel Modo

  2. Institute of Cell Engineering, Dept Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Johns Hopkins Univ. Sch. of Med., Rutland Ave. 720, Baltimore, 21205, Maryland, USA

    Jeff W.M. Bulte

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Baltes, C., Princz-Kranz, F., Rudin, M., Mueggler, T. (2011). Detecting Amyloid-β Plaques in Alzheimer’s Disease. In: Modo, M., Bulte, J. (eds) Magnetic Resonance Neuroimaging. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 711. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61737-992-5_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61737-992-5_26

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61737-991-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61737-992-5

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