Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310009, China.
Neurosci Bull. 2023 Jan;39(1):99-112. doi: 10.1007/s12264-022-00905-x. Epub 2022 Jun 30.
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.
神经退行性疾病（NDs）已成为老龄化社会的重大威胁。在过去的几十年中，已经进行了大量的研究来阐明其病理机制并寻找可靠的生物标志物。磁共振成像（MRI）是研究 NDs 中结构和功能脑改变的有力工具。它具有非侵入性和非放射性的优点，已广泛应用于动物研究和大规模临床研究中。MRI 可以作为连接微观和宏观分析的桥梁，促进从基础研究到临床应用的转化研究。然而，由于 MRI 技术的丰富性和复杂性，充分发挥其潜力并不总是那么简单。本综述旨在简要介绍临床成像研究的进展，并讨论在转化性 ND 研究中应用 MRI 的可能策略。
