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Neurodegenerative disorders

Tracking changes in Alzheimer's disease

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 6, page 347 (2005)Cite this article

Higuchi and co-workers had previously created a fluorine-containing compound, known as FSB, which specifically binds to amyloid-β plaques. They used a well-established transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease in which amyloid precursor protein is overexpressed, leading to a rapid build-up of amyloid-β. Intravenous delivery of FSB into these mice and the use of fluorine-sensitive MRI methods revealed amyloid deposits in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. This distribution of FSB was later confirmed with immunohistological analyses.

Importantly, the authors showed that the quantities of FSB required for detection using this method are not associated with toxic side effects. This MRI-based approach could, therefore, provide a potentially useful diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's disease, with the advantages of good spatial resolution and the avoidance of radioactive tracers.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Higuchi, M. et al. 19F and 1H MRI detection of amyloid β plaques in vivo. Nature Neurosci. 8, 527–533 (2005)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Small, D. H., Mok, S. S. & Bornstein, J. C. Alzheimer's disease and Aβ toxicity: from top to bottom. Nature Rev. Neurosci. 2, 595–598 (2001)

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Authors
  1. Alison Rowan
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Rowan, A. Tracking changes in Alzheimer's disease. Nat Rev Neurosci 6, 347 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1681

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