Rapid advancement of imaging technologies in the last couple of decades has made imaging one of the most useful tools in neurology. Imaging plays an integral role in the diagnosis of neurological diseases, monitoring of disease progression, assessment of therapeutic efficacy, and treatment planning. Imaging is used not only clinically, but also in neuroscience research to understand functional and biochemical mechanisms of normal and diseased nerve systems. Preclinical imaging on laboratory animals provides insights of the nerve systems, which are usually not available in clinical settings. Preclinical imaging is especially useful to study biological processes in neurological diseases, to develop drugs and drug delivery systems.
We realize there is a gap between the imaging needs for neuroinflammation and available technologies. On the other hand, the potentials of current imaging technologies are not fully achieved to address neuroinflammatory processes. We propose to tackle the problem in this issue by offering an avenue for investigators to present their state-of-the-art imaging technologies to image neuroinflammatory events.
We welcome the development and evaluation of imaging techniques for the following applications in neuroinflammation in clinical and preclinical settings:
• Measuring metabolites associated with neuroinflammation such as myo-inositol and choline using MRI and PET.
• Quantifying neuroinflammatory cytokines
• Imaging immune activation.
• Detecting neuronal impairments induced by inflammatory events.
• Characterizing disease-specific inflammatory cascade for neurological diseases.
• Determining the association between brain bioenergetic dysfunction and inflammation.
For each theme, the manuscript can be in the format of research article, review, short communication, and technical report.
Rapid advancement of imaging technologies in the last couple of decades has made imaging one of the most useful tools in neurology. Imaging plays an integral role in the diagnosis of neurological diseases, monitoring of disease progression, assessment of therapeutic efficacy, and treatment planning. Imaging is used not only clinically, but also in neuroscience research to understand functional and biochemical mechanisms of normal and diseased nerve systems. Preclinical imaging on laboratory animals provides insights of the nerve systems, which are usually not available in clinical settings. Preclinical imaging is especially useful to study biological processes in neurological diseases, to develop drugs and drug delivery systems.
We realize there is a gap between the imaging needs for neuroinflammation and available technologies. On the other hand, the potentials of current imaging technologies are not fully achieved to address neuroinflammatory processes. We propose to tackle the problem in this issue by offering an avenue for investigators to present their state-of-the-art imaging technologies to image neuroinflammatory events.
We welcome the development and evaluation of imaging techniques for the following applications in neuroinflammation in clinical and preclinical settings:
• Measuring metabolites associated with neuroinflammation such as myo-inositol and choline using MRI and PET.
• Quantifying neuroinflammatory cytokines
• Imaging immune activation.
• Detecting neuronal impairments induced by inflammatory events.
• Characterizing disease-specific inflammatory cascade for neurological diseases.
• Determining the association between brain bioenergetic dysfunction and inflammation.
For each theme, the manuscript can be in the format of research article, review, short communication, and technical report.