Fig. 5
CMBs shown with high resolution T2*W MR-microscopy from ex vivo brains (n = 16 total). a The majority of CMBs were found in the thalamus, the relay center of the brain, as shown in a representative minimum intensity projections (MinIP) from multiple slices of T2* MRI ex vivo. The C57BL/6J mice are shown in MinIP with the thalamus (Th), striatum (St), Hi visible from a young (3 mo) and old (24 mo) mouse scanned ex vivo after soaking in Gd contrast for 5 days. The arrow points to multiple thalamic CMBs across multiple slices. A single slice through the region indicated by the arrow is shown as an inset. b Multiple-planar views and high resolution isotropic images (55 µm3) enabled distinction and counting of individual CMBs. CMBs numbers increased in middle-aged and old mice with no significant differences between the number of CMBs in old-aged mice by sex. ANOVA testing indicated a p value less then 0.01 for CMBs by age, followed by the Tukey multiple pairwise-comparisons test, where #p value of less than 0.01 comparing young-aged to old and *p value of less then 0.05 when comparing middle-aged to old-aged mice for the CMBs count ex vivo