New Approach to Study the Development of Alzheimer's Disease

Scientists described a new technique to study β-amyloid deposits in vivo in a mouse model.

Researchers at the Werner Siemens Imaging Center (Tuebingen, Germany) have published a report in the December 2014 issue of Nature Medicine in which they describe a new technique to study how proteinaceous deposits (β-amyloid plaques) form and develop in the brains of laboratory mice. The plaques are similar to those that form in human Alzheimer's disease.

The technique used two noninvasive imaging technologies, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to produce images of the brains of live mice, and quantify the dynamics of Alzheimer development both temporally and spatially. The researchers found that reduced blood flow in the brain was directly linked to the formation of β-amyloid plaques in cerebral blood vessels, not to plaques that formed only in the brain tissue. The researchers noted that this technique could be used to help distinguish between Alzheimer's dementia from other types of dementia.

Dr. Bernd Pichler, from the Werner Siemens Imaging Center concluded that the research would help improve diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's, and commented, "It would make sense to develop new treatment strategies which reduce or prevent plaque formation." The lead author of the study, PhD student Florian Maier, concluded, “Our data show that the amyloid plaque build-up in the cerebral vessels is the main factor behind the disruption of blood flow.”

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Werner Siemens Imaging Center