Yohan van de Looij1,
2, Volodomyr Petrenko3, Petra Susan Hppi1, Rolf
Gruetter4, 5, Jozsef Kiss3, Stphane V.
Sizonenko1
1Division
of Child Growth & Development, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland;
2Laboratory for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Ecole
Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; 3Department
of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; 4Laboratory
for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, cole Polytechnique Fdrale de
Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; 5Department of radiology,
University of Geneva and Lausanne, Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland
Despite the importance of apoptosis in the brain pathology, in vivo diagnostic of this process is still not developed. The aim of this work was to evaluate the possibility of using non-invasive MR techniques to detect apoptotic neuronal death in the rodent cerebral cortex. Neuronal ablation was induced by using a diphtheria toxin and diphtheria toxin receptor system. MRS and DTI detected metabolic and micro-structural alterations induced by apoptotically dying neurons within the cortex. Further experiments are in progress to assess precisely acute and long-term apoptosis-induced MRI changes.
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