Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy of small animals

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) offers unique opportunities to obtain in vivo information about organ structure and function. The technique is widely used in clinical research. This application from several research groups at Ullevaal University Hospital is primarily focussed on the neurobiology of schizophrenia and molecular mechanisms of heart failure. These two diseases carry enormous costs in terms of suffering, high mortality and health care expenditures. The equipment will be dedicated to study dis ease mechanisms in rats and mice, especially exploiting the potential of gene modified mice. Data will be combined with experiments that use sophisticated ex vivo methods to study cell function and proteomics as well as other molecular biology approaches. Clinical experiments using the new 3Tesla magnet for human studies - operative at the hospital in December 2006 - will be carried out in parallel to promote the translational aspect. The equipment will be available for other groups in Oslo. Prof Ole A. A ndreassen is responsible for the schizophrenia project and Prof Ole M. Sejersted for the heart failure project. Both groups are partners in prioritized Thematic Research Areas at Faculty of Medicine, and both groups were recently granted status as finalis ts - still pending final decision - in the call for Centers of Excellence by The Research Council of Norway.