Jieun Kim1, In-Young Choi1, 2, Karen Duff3, Phil Lee1, 4
1Hoglund Brain Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States; 2Department of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States; 3Department of Integrative Neuroscience, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States; 4Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States
Effects of tauopathies in cerebral metabolism are not well described. This study aims to characterize neurochemical alterations associated with the development of tau pathologies in tau transgenic mice (rTau) that express a repressible human tau variant. Longitudinal assessment of neurochemical levels in the hippocampus showed alterations already at 5 months of age (mos), when they start to develop progressive age-related NFTs, neuronal loss, and behavioral impairments. Neurochemical alterations were more pronounced at 9 mos and further progressed at 12 mos, demonstrating 1H MRS as a sensitive tool to monitor disease progression with age in tauopathies.
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