Imaging the rat brain on a 1.5 T clinical MR-scanner

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers a noninvasive technique for studyin g neurodegenerative events in the rat brain, however, most of the studies a re performed on small bore purpose dedicated MR scanners of limited availab ility and at high cost. The present study explored the feasibility of using a clinical whole body MR-scanner to perform imaging in rat brain and speci fically in models of Parkinson's (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). For th at purpose rats were placed into a specially designed PVC device equipped w ith a flexible surface coil-and T2-weighted spin echo sequences were acquir ed on a Siemens Magnetom Vision at 1.5 T. In the experimental protocols of PD and HD, animals underwent 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and quinolinic acid (QA) injections, respectively and were subsequently grafted with fetal tis sue. T2-weighted images showed a small hyperintense area at the 6-OHDA lesi on site and a diffuse hyperintensity in the striata with QA lesions. Transp lants were seen as a hypointense area surrounded by a hyperintense rim on T 1-weighted images. Moreover, disturbances of the blood-brain-barrier and it s time of restoration could be monitored. In conclusion, high-resolution in vivo imaging of small animals is feasible with clinical MR-scanners and he nce allows the study of various experimental protocols. (C) 2000 Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.