Retinal functional ultrasound imaging (rfUS) for assessing neurovascular alterations: a pilot study on a rat model of dementia.

ABSTRACT: Fifty million people worldwide are affected by dementia, a heterogeneous neurodegenerative condition encompassing diseases such as Alzheimer's, vascular dementia, and Parkinson's. For them, cognitive decline is often the first marker of the pathology after irreversible brain damage has already occurred. Researchers now believe that structural and functional alterations of the brain vasculature could be early precursors of the diseases and are looking at how functional imaging could provide an early diagnosis years before irreversible clinical symptoms. In this preclinical pilot study, we proposed using functional ultrasound (fUS) on the retina to assess neurovascular alterations non-invasively, bypassing the skull limitation. We demonstrated for the first time the use of functional ultraso

SUBMITTER: Morisset C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9663720 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature