Magnetic resonance T2 relaxation time at 7 Tesla associated with amyloid β pathology and age in a double-transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

•We investigated T2 changes associated with age in an AD mouse combined with histology.•The mean T2 values of younger AD mice were higher than of WT mice, while the T2 values of older AD mice were lower compared to WT mice.•Aβ-40 and thioflavine-S fluorescence were detected in younger and older AD mice, while no evidence was detected in WT mice.•Changes in T2 values in AD mice may be influenced by many factors besides amyloid-β plaque. The aim of this study was to better understand the effect of amyloid-β plaques on magnetic resonance T2 relaxation time. We investigated these changes associated with age in an APP/PS1 mouse model of AD at 7 Tesla, combined with histology. Ten double-transgenic AD and ten wild type (WT) female mice (aged 12–20 months) were used in a cross-sectional study. Mean T2 values and standard deviations were calculated for each Regions of interest (ROIs) on T2 map. Immunohistochemistry for amyloid plaques and fluorescence staining with thioflavine S were performed of brain sections after imaging. The results showed that mean T2 values of the hippocampus, cortex, corpus callosum, and thalamus of older mice were significantly lower than of the younger. Compared to WT mice, the T2 values of the hippocampus, corpus callosum, and thalamus in younger AD mice were significantly greater, while the T2 values of the hippocampus and cortex in older AD mice were significantly less. Aβ-40 immunohistochemistry and thioflavine S stainging were positive in the matched region both for younger and older AD mice, while neither Aβ-40 nor thioflavine S were observed in WT mice. These findings suggest that regional T2 values of AD mice may decrease with age, and changes in T2 values in AD mice may be influenced by many factors besides amyloid-β plaque accumulation. Furthermore, they support that the standard deviation of the mean T2 value should be considered as well as the mean.