A year in review: brain barriers and brain fluids research in 2022.

This aim of this editorial is to highlight progress made in brain barrier and brain fluid research in 2022. It covers studies on the blood-brain, blood-retina and blood-CSF barriers (choroid plexus and meninges), signaling within the neurovascular unit and elements of the brain fluid systems. It further discusses how brain barriers and brain fluid systems are impacted in CNS diseases, their role in disease progression and progress being made in treating such diseases.

Advances in brain barriers and brain fluids research in 2021: great progress in a time of adversity.

This editorial highlights advances in brain barrier and brain fluid research in 2021. It covers research on components of the blood-brain barrier, neurovascular unit and brain fluid systems; how brain barriers and brain fluid systems are impacted by neurological disorders and their role in disease progression; and advances in strategies for treating such disorders.

Brain Barriers and brain fluids research in 2020 and the fluids and barriers of the CNS thematic series on advances in in vitro modeling of the blood-brain barrier and neurovascular unit.

This editorial discusses advances in brain barrier and brain fluid research in 2020. Topics include: the cerebral endothelium and the neurovascular unit; the choroid plexus; the meninges; cerebrospinal fluid and the glymphatic system; disease states impacting the brain barriers and brain fluids; drug delivery to the brain. This editorial also highlights the recently completed Fluids Barriers CNS thematic series entitled, 'Advances in in vitro modeling of the blood-brain barrier and neurovascular unit'. Such in vitro modeling is progressing rapidly.

This was the year that was: brain barriers and brain fluid research in 2019.

This editorial highlights advances in brain barrier and brain fluid research published in 2019, as well as addressing current controversies and pressing needs. Topics include recent advances related to: the cerebral endothelium and the neurovascular unit; the choroid plexus, arachnoid membrane; cerebrospinal fluid and the glymphatic hypothesis; the impact of disease states on brain barriers and brain fluids; drug delivery to the brain; and translation of preclinical data to the clinic. This editorial also mourns the loss of two important figures in the field, Malcolm B. Segal and Edward G. Stopa.

The year in review: progress in brain barriers and brain fluid research in 2018.

This editorial focuses on the progress made in brain barrier and brain fluid research in 2018. It highlights some recent advances in knowledge and techniques, as well as prevalent themes and controversies. Areas covered include: modeling, the brain endothelium, the neurovascular unit, the blood-CSF barrier and CSF, drug delivery, fluid movement within the brain, the impact of disease states, and heterogeneity.

Progress in brain barriers and brain fluid research in 2017.

The past year, 2017, has seen many important papers published in the fields covered by Fluids and Barriers of the CNS. This article from the Editors highlights some.

Correction to: Current research into brain barriers and the delivery of therapeutics for neurological diseases: a report on CNS barrier congress London, UK, 2017.

After publication of the article [1], it has been brought to our attention that there are some errors in the formatting of names in the final version of the article.

Current research into brain barriers and the delivery of therapeutics for neurological diseases: a report on CNS barrier congress London, UK, 2017.

This is a report on the CNS barrier congress held in London, UK, March 22-23rd 2017 and sponsored by Kisaco Research Ltd. The two 1-day sessions were chaired by John Greenwood and Margareta Hammarlund-Udenaes, respectively, and each session ended with a discussion led by the chair. Speakers consisted of invited academic researchers studying the brain barriers in relation to neurological diseases and industry researchers studying new methods to deliver therapeutics to treat neurological diseases. We include here brief reports from the speakers.

Brain barriers and brain fluid research in 2016: advances, challenges and controversies.

This editorial highlights some of the advances that occurred in relation to brain barriers and brain fluid research in 2016. It also aims to raise some of the attendant controversies and challenges in such research.

Advances in brain barriers and brain fluid research and news from Fluids and Barriers of the CNS.

Research into brain barriers and brain fluids has been advancing rapidly in recent years. This editorial aims to highlight some of the advances that have improved our understanding of this complex subject. It also brings you news of developments for Fluids and Barriers of the CNS including a new affiliation between the journal and the International Society for Hydrocephalus and CSF disorders.

News from the editors of Fluids and Barriers of the CNS.

This editorial announces a new affiliation between Fluids and Barriers of the CNS (FBCNS) and the International Brain Barriers Society (IBBS) with mutual benefits to the journal and to society members. This is a natural progression from the appointment of two new Co-Editors in Chief: Professor Lester Drewes and Professor Richard Keep in 2013. FBCNS provides a unique and specialist platform for the publication of research in the expanding fields of brain barriers and brain fluid systems in both health and disease.

Fluids and Barriers of the CNS: a new journal encompassing Cerebrospinal Fluid Research.

This article celebrates the re-launch of Cerebrospinal Fluid Research in its new format as Fluids and Barriers of the CNS. Editors-in Chief, Hazel Jones and Tetsuya Terasaki, anticipate that this expanded journal will provide a unique and specialist platform for the publication of research in cerebrospinal fluid and all brain barriers and fluid systems in both health and disease.

Hydrocephalus 2008, 17-20th September, Hannover Germany: a conference report.

Hydrocephalus 2008 was held 17-20 September in Hannover, Germany, at the invitation of Petra M Klinge (President), co-hosted by Joachim K. Krauss (Vice President), and Madjid Samii (Honorary President). This meeting was a successor to Hydrocephalus 2006 held in Göteborg, Sweden, organised by Past-President, Carsten Wikkelso. The conference began with a general introductory session of six talks including three invited lectures, followed by eighteen parallel sessions. Subjects covered were hydrocephalus signs, symptoms and diagnosis, especially in normal pressure hydrocephalus; cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) physics and dynamics; CSF function and modelling of function; dementia and quality of life, economy, health care and rehabilitation; neuropsychology, cognition and outcome assessment; neuroimaging, functional imaging and non-invasive diagnostics; paediatric and adolescent hydrocephalus; intelligent shunt and valve design (e.g. telemetry, adjustable and antimicrobial shunts); endoscopic third ventriculostomy; technical advances and image-guided surgical approaches in the treatment of hydrocephalus; brain metabolism, biomarkers and biophysics; co-morbidity, classification and aetiology; epidemiology, registries and clinical trials; experimental hydrocephalus; and pharmaceutical modulation of central nervous system function (CNS drug delivery). Each session began with introductory talks from the invited chairpersons followed by six to eight submitted oral presentations. Overall, 136 oral presentations and 18 posters were presented, the abstracts of which were published elsewhere 1. We present here an account of the introductory session, the invited chairperson's talks and the concluding remarks by Anthony Marmarou.

Effects of congenital hydrocephalus on the hypothalamic gonadotrophin-releasing hormone system.

OBJECT: Despite the investigations that have linked hydrocephalus to reproductive system abnormalities, no researchers have attempted to identify the pathophysiological mechanism of this relationship. Because the role of the hypothalamic gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) system in the regulation of reproductive functions is well established, the authors used immunohistochemical and radioimmunoassay (RIA) techniques to determine the morphological and biochemical effects of hydrocephalus on the hypothalamic GnRH system. METHODS: Hypothalamic GnRH levels, fiber density, and cell types were studied in 21- and 50-day-old control and congenitally hydrocephalic Texas rats. Results of RIA indicated a significant (8.4%) increase in GnRH in 21-day-old hydrocephalic rats (9.17 +/- 0.64 pg/ng total protein) compared with that in controls (0.97 +/- 0.74 pg/ng total protein). In addition, the 50-day-old hydrocephalic animals had a significantly higher level of GnRH compared with age-matched controls (20.4 pg/ng compared with 1.88 +/- 2.1 pg/ng total protein). This increase was accompanied by changes in the fiber appearance and a shift from low GnRH producing cells to high GnRH producing cells in the hydrocephalic animals; however, there was no significant difference in the fiber density between the control and hydrocephalic animals at 21 days. In addition, poor neurological scores correlated with the severity of hydrocephalus. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated that hypothalamic GnRH levels are significantly affected by fetal-onset hydrocephalus and that the mechanisms responsible for these effects may take place at the cellular rather than the gross structural level. Furthermore, they suggest that impairments in the GnRH system may be protracted in neonates and infants with hydrocephalus, and thus may be overcome by relatively early treatment with ventricular diversion. However, the clinical implications of GnRH perturbations in shunt-dependent patients must await a forthcoming study in shunted animals.

The first six months and the introduction of article processing charges.

Article processing charges (APCs) have recently been introduced for authors submitting papers to Cerebrospinal Fluid Research. This editorial is to inform readers about the need and use of APCs and about the advantages of free open access publishing.

Genetic loci for ventricular dilatation in the LEW/Jms rat with fetal-onset hydrocephalus are influenced by gender and genetic background.

BACKGROUND: The LEW/Jms rat strain has inherited hydrocephalus, with more males affected than females and an overall expression rate of 28%. This study aimed to determine chromosomal positions for genetic loci causing the hydrocephalus. METHODS: An F1 backcross was made to the parental LEW/Jms strain from a cross with non-hydrocephalic Fischer 344 rats. BC1 rats were generated for two specific crosses: the first with a male LEW/Jms rat as parent and grandparent, [(F x L) x L], designated B group, and the second with a female LEW/Jms rat as the parent and grandparent [L x (L x F)], designated C group. All hydrocephalic and a similar number of non-hydrocephalic rats from these two groups were genotyped with microsatellite markers and the data was analyzed separately for each sex by MAPMAKER. RESULTS: The frequency of hydrocephalus was not significantly different between the two groups (18.2 and 19.9 %), but there was a significant excess of males in the B group. The mean severity of hydrocephalus, measured as the ventricle-to-brain width ratio, was ranked as B group < C group < LEW/Jms. For the both rat groups, there were several chromosomes that showed possible regions with association between phenotype and genotype significant at the 5% or 1.0% level, but none of these had significant LOD scores. For the C group with a female LEW/Jms parent, there was a fully significant locus on Chr2 with a LOD score of 3.81 that was associated almost exclusively with male rats. Both groups showed possible linkage on Chr17 and the data combined produced a LOD score of 2.71, between suggestive and full significance. This locus was largely associated with male rats with a LEW/Jms male parent. CONCLUSION: Phenotypic expression of hydrocephalus in Lew/Jms, although not X-linked, has a strong male bias. One, and possibly two chromosomal regions are associated with the hydrocephalus.

Single and multiple congenic strains for hydrocephalus in the H-Tx rat.

The H-Tx rat has fetal-onset hydrocephalus with a complex mode of inheritance. Previously, quantitative trait locus mapping using a backcross with Fischer F344 rats demonstrated genetic loci significantly linked to hydrocephalus on Chromosomes 10, 11, and 17. Hydrocephalus was preferentially associated with heterozygous alleles on Chrs 10 and 11 and with homozygous alleles on Chr 17. This study aimed to determine the phenotypic contribution of each locus by constructing single and multiple congenic strains. Single congenic rats were constructed using Fischer F344 as the recipient strain and a marker-assisted protocol. The homozygous strains were maintained for eight generations and the brains examined for dilated ventricles indicative for hydrocephalus. No congenic rats had severe (overt) hydrocephalus. A few pups and a significant number of adults had mild disease. The incidence was significantly higher in the C10 and C17 congenic strains than in the nonhydrocephalic F344 strain. Breeding to F344 to make F.H-Tx C10 or C11 rats heterozygous for the hydrocephalus locus failed to produce progeny with severe disease. Both bicongenic and tricongenic rats of different genotype combinations were constructed by crossing congenic rats. None had severe disease but the frequency of mild hydrocephalus in adults was similar to congenic rats and significantly higher than in the F344 strain. Rats with severe hydrocephalus were recovered in low numbers when single congenic or bicongenic rats were crossed with the parental H-Tx strain. It is concluded that the genetic and epigenetic factors contributing to severe hydrocephalus in the H-Tx strain are more complex than originally anticipated.