Parastou
Foroutan1, Katherine J. Schweitzer2, Dennis W. Dickson3,
Daniel F. Broderick4, Uwe Klose5, Daniela Berg6,
Zbigniew K. Wszolek2, Samuel C. Grant1
1Chemical & Biomedical Engineering,
The Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States; 2Department
of Neurology, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, FL, United States; 3Department
of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, FL, United States; 4Department
of Radiology, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, FL, United States; 5Department
of Radiology, Section for Experimental ZNS Imaging, University hospital
Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany; 6Hertie Institute for Clinical
Brain Research, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
The
first MRM evaluations of human tissue (Alzheimer/Parkinson related pathology)
at 21.1 T, the highest magnetic field available for MRI, are presented.
Quantitative analysis of relaxation proved very sensitive in identifying
control versus pathological tissue, while parametric mapping demonstrated the
potential for categorizing severity. Generally, neurodegeneration appeared
more pervasive than expected, extending well beyond the regions normally
considered to be affected by either Alzheimers or Parkinsons disease alone.
As a pathological tool, MRM has potential to elucidate the extent and
severity of such neurodegeneration, and hopefully, may improve the diagnostic
capabilities of MRI as higher magnetic fields become available.