NEUROIMAGING IN PRECLINICAL MODELS OF ALS

GATTO, RODOLFO GABRIEL; CARINA WEISSMANN

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from diagnosis to treatment

Nova Science Publishers

Lugar: Nueva York; Año: 2020;

This chapter explores the expansion of imaging techniques applied to the study of preclinical models of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The continuous development of neuroimaging techniques has been critical to advance our understanding of neurodegenerative processes; and in the biological sciences, led the way to new discoveries of the molecular mechanisms of degeneration in ALS. We will focus on two neuroimaging aspects that have greatly evolved in the last decades related to ALS research: the development of optical tools in the biology field, and advances in the field of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The addition of fluorescent tags in optical microscopy has been critical to study new molecular and structural markers at earlier stages of the disease. These fluorescent labels used in in vitro as well as in-vivo assays, combined with improvements in computational algorithms and hardware, led to new levels of imaging analysis with higher precision. Moreover, the field of biology gained greatly from the advancements in genetics, and this allowed to partially reproduce, in animal models, the genetic mutations seen in human diseases. The proper choice of animals and imaging models to analyze molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases or test new compounds, nevertheless, remains a challenge. In parallel, technical advancements in MRI opened new possibilities within the neurosciences, giving access to intact neuraxial structures. Further, improvements in magnetic field strengths led to higher imaging resolution outputs. We aim this to be a cohesive overview of the available imaging research tools in ALS research and how their combination places us a step closer to find a definitive treatment for this disease