... for families who think their loved ones are afflicted by Alzheimer's disease: new techniques are paving the way for easier diagnosis.

Jessica Bernier, an undergraduate member of Dr. Theodore Trouard's research group at the University of Arizona, is searching for noninvasive ways to diagnose Alzheimer's disease using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). MRI is a medical technique that manipulates powerful magnetic fields in order to view internal structures of the body. Unlike CAT scans, it has no ionizing radiation and so is safer to the patients.

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most tragic diseases of our society. Affecting over 5 million people, it impairs memory and cognitive tasks, like recognizing faces. Currently, Alzheimer's disease is very difficult to diagnose in living patients, requiring significant clinical and behavioral observation. A definitive diagnosis can be given at autopsy by looking under a microscope for biological markers in slices of the brain. One such marker is the presence of hard plaques, called amyloid plaques, in certain regions of the brain.

Detecting amyloid plaques with MRI is more than just a tool for diagnosis. It would also allow doctors to monitor the progression of the disease in patients and the brain's response to drug treatments.

Trouard's lab uses mice as test subjects for MRI studies. The mouse genes are modified to create amyloid plaques in the brain, paralleling the human disease. Unlike human subjects, where it can take decades to manifest, Alzheimer's disease can manifest quickly and predictably in mice.

Bernier is responsible for programming an algorithm that converts the data taken at the MR scanner to a useful format for image reconstruction. The algorithm works in two dimensions, but she hopes to expand the technique to provide images in three dimensions. Three-dimensional image reconstruction is a critical step in the Trouard lab's development of a new MR scanning technique called "Ultrashort Echo Time" (UTE).

Traditionally during experiments, the magnetic fields change slowly with respect to the magnetization of the atomic spins, which gives good images of soft tissue, like the white and gray matter of the brain. However, UTE gives images of hard matter, like bone. Trouard hopes that UTE will allow his lab to view individual amyloid plaques that cannot be seen directly with longer echo times.

"As people are living longer, Alzheimer's disease is only going to become more of a problem," Bernier says. "Monitoring the progression of the disease will be of vital importance to find a cure, but even diagnosing the disease with certainty is an important step in bringing peace of mind to family and friends who provide care and support while watching their loved ones slowly succumb to Alzheimer's. MRI might just be the tool we need."

Bernier is a senior double majoring in Physics and Mathematics at the University of Arizona. After graduation in May 2009, she plans to continue her line of research in graduate school.

Her work is organized through the University of Arizona's Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Biology Research Program and is funded by two grants from the National Institute of Health.

Jessica Bernier, UBRPer in Dr. Theodore Trouard's lab, Biomedical Engineering

... for families who think their loved ones are afflicted by Alzheimer's disease: new techniques are paving the way for easier diagnosis.

Jessica Bernier, an undergraduate member of Dr. Theodore Trouard's research group at the University of Arizona, is searching for noninvasive ways to diagnose Alzheimer's disease using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). MRI is a medical technique that manipulates powerful magnetic fields in order to view internal structures of the body. Unlike CAT scans, it has no ionizing radiation and so is safer to the patients.

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most tragic diseases of our society. Affecting over 5 million people, it impairs memory and cognitive tasks, like recognizing faces. Currently, Alzheimer's disease is very difficult to diagnose in living patients, requiring significant clinical and behavioral observation. A definitive diagnosis can be given at autopsy by looking under a microscope for biological markers in slices of the brain. One such marker is the presence of hard plaques, called amyloid plaques, in certain regions of the brain.

Detecting amyloid plaques with MRI is more than just a tool for diagnosis. It would also allow doctors to monitor the progression of the disease in patients and the brain's response to drug treatments.

Trouard's lab uses mice as test subjects for MRI studies. The mouse genes are modified to create amyloid plaques in the brain, paralleling the human disease. Unlike human subjects, where it can take decades to manifest, Alzheimer's disease can manifest quickly and predictably in mice.

Bernier is responsible for programming an algorithm that converts the data taken at the MR scanner to a useful format for image reconstruction. The algorithm works in two dimensions, but she hopes to expand the technique to provide images in three dimensions. Three-dimensional image reconstruction is a critical step in the Trouard lab's development of a new MR scanning technique called "Ultrashort Echo Time" (UTE).

Traditionally during experiments, the magnetic fields change slowly with respect to the magnetization of the atomic spins, which gives good images of soft tissue, like the white and gray matter of the brain. However, UTE gives images of hard matter, like bone. Trouard hopes that UTE will allow his lab to view individual amyloid plaques that cannot be seen directly with longer echo times.

"As people are living longer, Alzheimer's disease is only going to become more of a problem," Bernier says. "Monitoring the progression of the disease will be of vital importance to find a cure, but even diagnosing the disease with certainty is an important step in bringing peace of mind to family and friends who provide care and support while watching their loved ones slowly succumb to Alzheimer's. MRI might just be the tool we need."

Bernier is a senior double majoring in Physics and Mathematics at the University of Arizona. After graduation in May 2009, she plans to continue her line of research in graduate school.

Her work is organized through the University of Arizona's Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Biology Research Program and is funded by two grants from the National Institute of Health.

Jessica Bernier, UBRPer in Dr. Theodore Trouard's lab, Biomedical Engineering