Mapping tiny blood vessels in the brain's memory area and how they relate to Alzheimer's changes
Identifying microscopic vasculature within entorhinal cortex in healthy aging and its proximity to pathology profiles in Alzheimer's disease
Researchers are using ultra-high-resolution brain scans and tissue staining to map tiny blood vessels in the entorhinal cortex to learn how those patterns relate to Alzheimer's disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11457052 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you or a loved one donates brain tissue after death, researchers will scan the entorhinal cortex with 7T MRI to visualize very small arterioles, penetrators, and capillaries. They will use image-enhancing algorithms to highlight vessels and then match those images to microscope-based staining for blood vessels, tau, TDP-43, and neuron counts. Neuronal loss will be measured with systematic random sampling to link local vascular patterns to regions of degeneration and protein pathology. This combined imaging and histology approach aims to create a detailed map of vascular territories where vulnerable neurons live.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are people with Alzheimer's, mild cognitive impairment, or older adults who enroll in a brain donation program and agree to postmortem tissue use for research.
Not a fit: People seeking immediate treatments or therapeutic benefits will not directly benefit because this work analyzes donated brain tissue after death rather than testing a therapy in living patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could reveal specific microvascular patterns linked to Alzheimer's vulnerability, helping guide earlier detection or targeted prevention strategies in the future.
How similar studies have performed: High-field MRI and histologic vascular studies exist separately, but combining 7T postmortem vessel mapping with matched tau, TDP-43, and neuron counts in the entorhinal cortex is largely novel.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Augustinack, Jean — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Augustinack, Jean
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.