What have Novel Imaging Techniques Revealed About Metabolism in the Aging Brain?
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: Brain metabolism declines with age and do so in an accelerated manner in neurodegenerative disorders. Noninvasive neuroimaging techniques have played an important role to identify the metabolic biomarkers in aging brain. Particularly, PET with fluorine-18 (18F)-labeled 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose tracer and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) have been widely used to monitor changes in brain metabolism over time, identify the risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and predict the conversion from mild cognitive impairment to AD. Novel techniques, including PET carbon-11 Pittsburgh compound-B, carbon-13 and phosphorus-31 MRS, have also been introduced to determine Aβ plaques deposition, mitochondrial functions and brain bioenergetics in aging brain and neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we introduce the basic principle of the imaging techniques, review the findings from 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose-PET, Pittsburgh compound-B PET, proton, carbon-13 and phosphorus-31 MRS on changes in metabolism in normal aging brain, mild cognitive impairment and AD, and discuss the potential of neuroimaging to identify effective interventions and treatment efficacy for neurodegenerative disorders.
Source: Future Neurology
DOI: 10.2217/fnl.14.13
Authors: Ai-Ling Lin, Douglas L Rothman
Institutions: University of Kentucky, Yale University
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science: A Partnership to Improve Health, Neuroimaging Assessments of Brain Integrity in Aging Mice, 13C MRS Studies of Human Brain Mitochondrial Metabolism in Healthy Aging, Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science: A Partnership to Improve Health
OpenAlex ID: W1989349564