Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow Studies and Recent Advancements.

This article provides an overview of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques used to assess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) movement in the central nervous system (CNS), including Phase-Contrast (PC), Time-Spatial Labeling Inversion Pulse, and simultaneous multi slice echo planar phase contrast imaging. These techniques have been used to assess CSF movement in the CNS under normal and pathophysiological situations. PC can quantitatively measure stroke volume in selected regions, particularly the aqueduct of Sylvius, as synchronized to the heartbeat. The PC is frequently used to investigate those patients with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus and a Chiari I malformation. Time-Spatial Labeling Inversion Pulse, with high signal-to-noise ratio, captures motion of CSF anywhere in the CNS over a time period of up to 5 seconds. Variations of PC-MRI improved temporal resolution and included contributions from respiration. With non-invasive imaging such as these, more can be understood about CSF dynamics, especially with respect to the relative effects of cardiac and respiratory changes on CSF movement.

Resonant and notch behavior in intracranial pressure dynamics.

OBJECT: The intracranial pulse pressure is often increased when neuropathology is present, particularly in cases of increased intracranial pressure (ICP) such as occurs in hydrocephalus. This pulse pressure is assumed to originate from arterial blood pressure oscillations entering the cranium; the fact that there is a coupling between the arterial blood pressure and the ICP is undisputed. In this study, the nature of this coupling and how it changes under conditions of increased ICP are investigated. METHODS: In 12 normal dogs, intracarotid and parenchymal pulse pressure were measured and their coupling was characterized using amplitude and phase transfer function analysis. Mean intracranial ICP was manipulated via infusions of isotonic saline into the spinal subarachnoid space, and changes in transfer function were monitored. RESULTS: Under normal conditions, the ICP wave led the arterial wave, and there was a minimum in the pulse pressure amplitude near the frequency of the heart rate. Under conditions of decreased intracranial compliance, the ICP wave began to lag behind the arterial wave and increased significantly in amplitude. Most interestingly, in many animals the pulse pressure exhibited a minimum in amplitude at a mean pressure that coincided with the transition from a leading to lagging ICP wave. CONCLUSIONS: This transfer function behavior is characteristic of a resonant notch system. This may represent a component of the intracranial Windkessel mechanism, which protects the microvasculature from arterial pulsatility. The impairment of this resonant notch system may play a role in the altered pulse pressure in conditions such as hydrocephalus and traumatic brain swelling. New models of intracranial dynamics are needed for understanding the frequency-sensitive behavior elucidated in these studies and could open a path for development of new therapies that are geared toward addressing the pulsation dysfunction in pathological conditions, such as hydrocephalus and traumatic brain injury, affecting ICP and flow dynamics.