Abstract #4716

CEST MRI Detects Early Signal Changes in the Lumbar Spinal Cord of ALS SOD1 Mice

Aline M. Thomas^1,2 and Jeff W.M. Bulte^1,2

¹Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Institute for Cell Engineering, Imaging Section and Vascular Biology Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), genetic abnormalities damage motor neurons, resulting in rapidly-progressing neurodegeneration, muscle wasting, and irreversible disability. Current imaging strategies (T2w, DTI, fMRI) monitor structural changes to motor neurons. Here, we investigated continuous wave chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI to monitor molecular changes resulting from these abnormalities as a potentially complementary imaging biomarker for monitoring ALS disease progression.

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