Study demonstrates the impact of freezing on quantitative MRI properties and histology in brain tissue, suggesting alternative methods for tissue preservation.
Motivation: Quantitative MRI (qMRI) parameter validation with histology is often done with ex vivo fixed tissue. Freezing is another preservation method, but the effects of freezing/thawing on qMRI parameters and their correlation with histology are unknown. Goal(s): We investigated how freezing/thawing brain tissue affects myelin-sensitive qMRI properties and histology correlation. Approach: We scanned the same fresh/thawed and fresh/fixed samples and compared qMRI parameters with luxol fast blue (LFB) results. Results: qMRI values correlated well with LFB across conditions. Thawed and fixed tissues exhibited modest increases in qMRI parameters compared to fresh. Histology showed that samples did not lose tissue integrity from the freezing process. Impact: Tissue freezing is a reasonable alternative preservation method to tissue fixation for use in qMRI analysis. Brain banks that store frozen tissue could use these samples for future qMRI and histological studies.
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Murguia et al. (2025) studied this question.
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