Imaging Markers of Blood Clotting in the Alzheimer's Disease Brain

Project Summary

Blood clot risk has been identified in the brains of some people in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The tiny clots that result may serve as a marker of the disease and offer a target for clot-inhibiting treatments, highlighting this feature as a largely overlooked and potentially treatable factor in Alzheimer's disease.

Using lab models, Marta Casquero-Veiga, PhD, and her colleagues will follow the development of these tiny clots, using new neuroimaging tools. They have developed a novel radio-isotope tracer that homes to clotting factors in the brain. The researchers will follow the nanoradiotracer using a combination of PET and MRI imaging techniques. 

The tracers will highlight both the location of clotting-related factors and the process of clotting. Dr. Casquero-Viega and her team expect the results to characterize a potential tool for diagnosing early Alzheimer's disease and a target for treatments that could slow disease progression.