Conflicting MRI signals from gliosis and neuronal vacuolation in prion diseases.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has given inconsistent results when used as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). In order to understand this finding, we studied a hamster model of scrapie by in vivo MRI and histopathology. Vacuolation of neurones/neuropil and gliosis were found to correlate with hypo-intense and hyper-intense changes in the conventional T2-weighted MR images, respectively. These opposing effects were shown to give rise to normal images of a scrapie-affected brain undergoing severe neurodegeneration, and may underlie the variability of previous CJD MRI data.
Chung
Y L
YL
Robert Steiner Magnetic Resonance Unit, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK.
Williams
A
A
Ritchie
D
D
Williams
S C
SC
Changani
K K
KK
Hope
J
J
Bell
J D
JD
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000473:pathology; D006224:Cricetinae; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000032:analysis; D005911:Gliosis / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology*; D012608:Scrapie / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*
D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein