Live monitoring of brain damage in the rat model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurological disorder affecting upper and lower motoneurons. The transgenic ALS rat model (hSOD-1(G93A)) was used for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study using a low field wide bore magnet. T2-weighted hyperintensities were observed in the brainstem, rubrospinal tract and vagus motor nuclei with prominent lateral ventricle and cerebral aqueduct enlargements. These changes could be observed already in presymptomatic animals. T2*-weighted MRI with magnetically labeled antibodies (against CD4) revealed lymphocyte infiltration in the brainstem-midbrain region corresponding to the areas of dilated lateral ventricles. Confocal imaging revealed reactive astroglia in these areas. Thus, with the use of wide bore MRI new sites of neurodegeneration and inflammation were revealed in the hSOD-1(G93A) rat model.