Peiyu Huang1  · Minming Zhang1

1 Department of Radiology, The Second Afliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China

Abstract

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) have become a significant threat to an aging human society. Numerous studies have been conducted in the past decades to clarify their pathologic mechanisms and search for reliable biomarkers. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful tool for investigating structural and functional brain alterations in NDs. With the advantages of being non-invasive and non-radioactive, it has been frequently used in both animal research and large-scale clinical investigations. MRI may serve as a bridge connecting micro- and macro-level analysis and promoting bench-to-bed translational research. Nevertheless, due to the abundance and complexity of MRI techniques, exploiting their potential is not always straightforward. This review aims to briefly introduce research progress in clinical imaging studies and discuss possible strategies for applying MRI in translational ND research.

Keywords

Magnetic resonance imaging; Neurodegenerative disease; Translational research; Alzheimer’s disease; Parkinson’s disease

[SpringerLink]