Dynamic glucoCEST MRI detects regional changes in cerebral glucose uptake in Alzheimer’s disease at 3T

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is affecting over 50 million people globally. Altered glucose uptake is an early hallmark in AD. Here, we apply glucoCEST, in particular, dynamic glucose enhanced (DGE) MRI to study regional glucose uptake in AD at 3T. First, we optimize saturation parameters, and then we apply these parameters to study glucose uptake in AD mice. Moreover, we use a piecewise exponential fitting to extract specific changes related to glucose uptake and utilization. Results showed a global and regional decrease in cerebral glucose uptake in AD mice compared to WT, which could be an effective mean for early diagnosis.