Affiliations: MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Department of Neurology/Alzheimer's Disease Research Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, 114 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Brian J. Bacskai, PhD, Department of Neurology/Alzheimer's Disease Research Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, 114 16th Street, #2850, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. Tel.: +1 617 724 5306; Fax: +1 617 724 1480; E-mail: bbacskai@partners.org.
Abstract: Multiphoton microscopy is an optical imaging technique that allows high resolution detection of fluorescence in thick, scattering tissues. The technique has been used for trans-cranial imaging of the brains of living transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. Direct detection of senile plaques in these mice has allowed the characterization of the natural history of individual senile plaques, the evaluation of plaque clearance during immunotherapy, and the characterization of the kinetics and biodistribution of the PET ligand, PIB. With the expanding repertoire of structural and functional fluorescent probes, and the preclinical characterization of new contrast agents for complementary imaging modalities like MRI, PET, SPECT, and NIRS, multiphoton microscopy will continue to be a powerful tool in understanding and combating Alzheimer's disease.
