Computed tomography of amyloid plaques in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease using diffraction enhanced imaging

Our understanding of early development in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is clouded by the scale at which the disease progresses; amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques, a hallmark feature of AD, are small (~ 50 μm) and low contrast in diagnostic clinical imaging techniques. Diffraction enhanced imaging (DEI), a phase contrast x-ray imaging technique, has greater soft tissue contrast than conventional radiography and generates higher resolution images than magnetic resonance microimaging. Thus, in this proof of principle study, DEI in micro-CT mode was performed on the brains of AD-model mice to determine if DEI can visualize Aβ plaques. Results revealed small nodules in the cortex and hippocampus of the brain. Histology confirmed that the features seen in the DEI images of the brain were Aβ plaques. Several anatomical structures, including hippocampal subregions and white matter tracks, were also observed. Thus, DEI has strong promise in early diagnosis of AD, as well as general studies of the mouse brain.