Register for free to
view the full innovation profile.
This technology could be used in combinationto monitor the effectiveness of a particular therapy. Thus, this technologypermits early detection of amyloid lesions.
About
Summary Researchers at NYU have developed a method fordiagnosing Alzheimer's disease by early detection of amyloid plaques in-vivousing magnetic resonance imaging. This method relies on using an Aß-1-40peptide bound to a contrast agent which, upon injection, binds selectively toAß. This material is injected systemically with mannitol which acts totransiently open the blood-brain barrier such that pre-Aß deposits and amyloidplaques can be visualized under MRI conditions routinely used clinically. This technology has beendemonstrated in a transgenic mouse model for Alzheimer's disease. Followinginjection of mice with the contrast agent bound to Aß1-40 and mannitol, MRIdetected the presence of both amyloid and pre-amyloid plaques. The injectedmice showed good correlation with the corresponding immunohistochemicallystained brain sections for amyloid.