Title:Early Detection of Cerebral Glucose Uptake Changes in the 5XFAD Mouse
VOLUME: 11 ISSUE: 5
Author(s):I.R. Macdonald, D.R. DeBay, G.A. Reid, T.P. O’Leary, C.T. Jollymore, G. Mawko, S. Burrell, E. Martin, C.V. Bowen, R.E. Brown and S. Darvesh
Affiliation:Room 1308, Camp Hill Veterans’ Memorial, 5955 Veterans’ Memorial Lane, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 2E1. Canada.
Keywords:Alzheimer's disease, β-amyloid, computed tomography, glucose metabolism, magnetic resonance imaging, positron
emission tomography, standardized uptake value, Tg6799.
Abstract:Brain glucose hypometabolism has been observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients, and is detected with
18F radiolabelled glucose, using positron emission tomography. A pathological hallmark of AD is deposition of brain β-
amyloid plaques that may influence cerebral glucose metabolism. The five times familial AD (5XFAD) mouse is a model
of brain amyloidosis exhibiting AD-like phenotypes. This study examines brain β-amyloid plaque deposition and 18FDG
uptake, to search for an early biomarker distinguishing 5XFAD from wild-type mice. Thus, brain 18FDG uptake and
plaque deposition was studied in these mice at age 2, 5 and 13 months. The 5XFAD mice demonstrated significantly reduced
brain 18FDG uptake at 13 months relative to wild-type controls but not in younger mice, despite substantial β-
amyloid plaque deposition. However, by comparing the ratio of uptake values for glucose in different regions in the same
brain, 5XFAD mice could be distinguished from controls at age 2 months. This method of measuring altered glucose metabolism
may represent an early biomarker for the progression of amyloid deposition in the brain. We conclude that brain
18FDG uptake can be a sensitive biomarker for early detection of abnormal metabolism in the 5XFAD mouse when alternative
relative uptake values are utilized.
