title: Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in APP transgenic mice: a cohort study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fast in-vivo high resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the mouse brain has recently been shown to enable cohort studies by the combination of appropriate pulse sequences and cryogenically cooled resonators (CCR). The objective of this study was to apply this DTI approach at the group level to β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve mice (5 wild type, 7 APP transgenic tg2576) underwent DTI examination at 156(2) × 250 µm(3) spatial resolution with a CCR at ultrahigh field (11.7 T). Diffusion images were acquired along 30 gradient directions plus 5 references without diffusion encoding with a total acquisition time of 35 minutes. Fractional anisotropy (FA) maps were statistically compared by whole brain-based spatial statistics (WBSS) at the group level vs. wild type controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  FA-map comparison showed characteristic regional patterns of differences between the groups with localizations associated with Alzheimer's disease in humans, such as the hippocampus, the entorhinal cortex, and the caudoputamen.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this proof-of-principle study, regions associated with amyloid-β deposition could be identified by WBSS of FA maps in APP transgenic mice vs. wild type mice. Thus, DTI in the mouse brain acquired at 11.7 T by use of a CCR was demonstrated to be feasible for cohort studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany. hans-peter.mueller@uni-ulm.de
authors.forename: Hans-Peter
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kassubek
authors.forename: Ina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vernikouskaya
authors.forename: Albert C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ludolph
authors.forename: Detlef
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stiller
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rasche
mesh_terms: D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D016880:Anisotropy; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D015331:Cohort Studies; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic
chemical_list: D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor