Impaired Glucose Metabolism Detected In Six-month-old 5xFAD Mice Using Deuterium MRI

Motivation: Impaired brain energy metabolism at early stage is found to be the driving factor of AD progression. Goal(s): To investigate the potential of using deuterium MRI to detect alterations in brain energy metabolism in 5xFAD mice before the onset of significant cognitive symptoms. Approach: Deuterium MRI was performed at 11.7T following a tail vein injection of [2, 3, 4, 6, 6'-2H5]-glucose (3 g/kg). Behavior test, PET-MRI, histology and immunostaining were performed. Results: The averaged normalized 2H-Glx signal in 5xFAD mice was observed to be higher than in wild-type mice at about 100min after the glucose administration. Impact: This study demonstrates the potential of deuterium MRI to detect early alterations in brain energy metabolism. Noninvasive evaluation of oxidative metabolism may provide valuable perspective of AD progression, which can help to identify potential interventions to slow its progression.