title: Manganese-enhanced MRI of rat spinal cord injury.
abstract: The potential of the manganese-enhanced MRI (MEI) technique in labeling the intact neuronal circuitry of rat spinal cord was examined. Experiments were conducted on normal and injured cords at 9.4-T magnetic field strength using an implantable rf coil. The contrast agent manganese (Mn) was locally delivered within the parenchyma at a dose of 25 mmol/L in 10 nL. The transport, uptake and accumulation of Mn in tissue were then followed remotely on T1-weighted images that were acquired serially from the cord. In MEIs of normal cord, Mn was observed to be transported in directions both rostral and caudal to the site of injection. In the cord that was subjected to hemisection, signal enhancement was on the contralesional side of the cord, but not at the ipsilesional side. The sensitivity and specificity of the MEI technique in labeling the neurons that are functional were also validated with a traditional track-tracing method using biotinylated dextran amine.
authors.affiliation: Hoglund Brain Imaging Center, The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA. mbilgen@kumc.edu
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bilgen
authors.forename: Numa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dancause
authors.forename: Baraa
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Al-Hafez
authors.forename: Yong-Yue
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Malone
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008345:Manganese / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D051381:Rats; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D008345:Manganese