Towards non-invasive diagnostic imaging of early-stage Alzheimer's disease

One way to image the molecular pathology in Alzheimer's disease is by positron emission tomography using probes that target amyloid fibrils. However, these fibrils are not closely linked to the development of the disease. It is now thought that early-stage biomarkers that instigate memory loss are composed of A beta oligomers. Here, we report a sensitive molecular magnetic resonance imaging contrast probe that is specific for A beta oligomers. We attach oligomer-specific antibodies onto magnetic nanostructures and show that the complex is stable and binds to A beta oligomers on cells and brain tissues to give a magnetic resonance imaging signal. When intranasally administered to an Alzheimer's disease mouse model, the probe readily reached hippocampal A beta oligomers. In isolated samples of human brain tissue, we observed a magnetic resonance imaging signal that distinguished Alzheimer's disease from controls. Such nanostructures that target neurotoxic A beta oligomers are potentially useful for evaluating the efficacy of new drugs and ultimately for early-stage Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and disease management.