MRI hope for dementia research
Published 28 July 2008
Alzheimer's Society comment: Images of the plaques that characterise Alzheimer’s disease have been captured using conventional strength MRI scans on animals for the first time.
This is according to new research presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease.
PET scans are currently the only way to capture the amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. However, they are not routinely available because of their high cost and limited availability.
Dementia research is severely underfunded in the UK. If these results could be replicated in humans, MRI scans could provide a cheap and readily available way to see if potential treatments for this devastating disease can clear amyloid in the brain.
Professor Clive Ballard
Director of Research
Alzheimer's Society
ENDS
Reference:
John Ronald. Direct visualization of β-amyloid plaques in hypercholesterolemic rabbits using clinical field-strength magnetic resonance imaging
