Sodium salicylate (NaSA), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug and the main metabolite of aspirin, can accumulate specifically in inflamed tissue. We investigated the use of NaSA-enhanced CEST MRI for in vivo mapping of brain inflammation, induced by intrastriatal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Inflamed mice exhibited an increase of ~8% NaSA-CEST signal on the AUC10-30min images, with signals for the ipsilateral striatum significantly higher than those for the mirrored contralateral regions. While for the non-inflamed sham mice, which received saline instead of LPS, no such NaSA-CEST signal could be observed. Our NaSA-CEST approach could possibly lead to the development of inflammation-specific theranostics.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.