Morphological Observation of the Pupal Body of Trypoxylus dichotomus Using 9.4T MR Imaging.

Metamorphosis in the pupae of the Trypoxylus dichotomus was continuously observed at 9.4T until their emergence. A large liquid-like mass occupied most of the volume in the trunk, while the surrounding tissue already existed at the beginning of the observation period. As the mass shrunk, tissues such as flight muscle formed, whereas the reservoir became prolonged to form the intestinal tract. This implies that the liquid-like mass worked as the raw material for creating adult tissues.

Temperature measurement of intracranial cerebrospinal fluid using diffusion tensor imaging after revascularization surgery in Moyamoya disease.

OBJECTIVE: Brain temperature monitoring using a catheter thermometer has been reported to be a useful technique to predict prognosis in neurosurgery. To investigate the possibility of measuring intracranial cerebrospinal fluid temperature for postoperative monitoring in patients with Moyamoya disease (MMD) after bypass surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study evaluated fifteen patients with MMD who were indicated for bypass surgery. Diffusion tensor imaging for brain thermometry were performed on a 1.5-T MR scanner. Intracranial cerebrospinal fluid temperature with/without considering the fractional anisotropy component, body temperature, C-reactive protein levels, white blood cell count, and cerebral blood flow measured by 123I-IMP single-photon emission computed tomography were obtained before surgery and 1-3 days after surgery. Pixel values considered to be signal outliers in fractional anisotropy processing were defined as cerebrospinal fluid noise index and calculated. Wilcoxon signed-rank test and effect size were performed to compare the changes before and after revascularization. Spearman's rho correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlations between each parameter. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. RESULTS: All parameter values became significantly higher compared to those measured before revascularization (p < 0.01 in all cases). The effect sizes were largest for the cerebrospinal fluid temperature with fractional anisotropy processing and for C-reactive protein levels (Rank-biserial correlation = 1.0). The cerebrospinal fluid noise index and cerebrospinal fluid temperatures with fractional anisotropy processing (r = 0.84, p < 0.0001) or without fractional anisotropy processing (r = 0.95, p < 0.0001) showed highly significant positive correlations. Although no significant correlation was observed, cerebrospinal fluid temperatures with fractional anisotropy had small or moderately positive correlations with cerebral blood flow, body temperature, C-reactive protein levels, and white blood cell count (r = 0.37, 0.42, 0.41, and 0.44, respectively; p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest the possibility of postoperative monitoring for MMD patients by measuring intracranial cerebrospinal fluid temperature with fractional anisotropy processing. Intracranial cerebrospinal fluid temperature might be considered as combined response since cerebrospinal fluid, body temperature, and inflammation are equally correlated.

Practical guidelines of online MR-guided adaptive radiotherapy.

The first magnetic resonance (MR)-guided radiotherapy system in Japan was installed in May 2017. Implementation of online MR-guided adaptive radiotherapy (MRgART) began in February 2018. Online MRgART offers greater treatment accuracy owing to the high soft-tissue contrast in MR-images (MRI), compared to that in X-ray imaging. The Japanese Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (JSMRM), Japan Society of Medical Physics (JSMP), Japan Radiological Society (JRS), Japanese Society of Radiological Technology (JSRT), and Japanese Society for Radiation Oncology (JASTRO) jointly established the comprehensive practical guidelines for online MRgART. These guidelines propose the essential requirements for clinical implementation of online MRgART with respect to equipment, personnel, institutional environment, practice guidance, and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC). The minimum requirements for related equipment and QA/QC tools, recommendations for safe operation of MRI system, and the implementation system are described. The accuracy of monitor chamber and detector in dose measurements should be confirmed because of the presence of magnetic field. The ionization chamber should be MR-compatible. Non-MR-compatible devices should be used in an area that is not affected by the static magnetic field (outside the five Gauss line), and their operation should be checked to ensure that they do not affect the MR image quality. Dose verification should be performed using an independent dose verification system that has been confirmed to be reliable through commissioning. This guideline proposes the checklists to ensure the safety of online MRgART. Successful clinical implementation of online MRgART requires close collaboration between physician, radiological technologist, nurse, and medical physicist.

New Insights into MR Safety for Implantable Medical Devices.

Over the last two decades, the status of MR safety has dramatically changed. In particular, ever since the MR-conditional cardiac device was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2008 and by the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) in 2012, the safety of patients with an implantable medical device (IMD) has been one of the most important issues in terms of MR use. In conjunction with the regulatory approvals for various IMDs, standards, technical specifications, and guidelines have also been rapidly created and developed. Many invaluable papers investigating and reviewing the history and status of MR use in the presence of IMDs already exist. As such, this review paper seeks to bridge the gap between clinical practice and the information that is obtained by standard-based tests and provided by an IMD's package insert or instructions for use. Interpretation of the gradient of the magnetic flux density intensity of the static magnetic field with respect to the magnetic displacement force is discussed, along with the physical background of RF field. The relationship between specific absorption rate (SAR) and B1+RMS, and their effects on image quality are described. In addition, insofar as providing new directions for future research and practice, the feasibility of safety test methods for RF-induced heating of IMDs using MR thermometry, evaluation of tissue heat damage, and challenges in cardiac IMDs will be discussed.

Evaluation of Cardiac- and Respiratory-driven Cerebrospinal Fluid Motions by Applying the S-transform to Steady-state Free Precession Phase Contrast Imaging.

PURPOSE: To extract the status of hydrocephalus and other cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-related diseases, a technique to characterize the cardiac- and respiratory-driven CSF motions separately under free breathing was developed. This technique is based on steady-state free precession phase contrast (SSFP-PC) imaging in combination with a Stockwell transform (S-transform). METHODS: 2D SSFP-PC at 3 T was applied to measure the CSF velocity in the caudal-cranial direction within a sagittal slice at the midline (N = 3) under 6-, 10-, and 16-s respiratory cycles and free breathing. The frequency-dependent window width of the S-transform was controlled by a particular scaling factor, which then converted the CSF velocity waveform into a spectrogram. Based on the frequency bands of the cardiac pulsation and respiration, as determined by the electrocardiogram (ECG) and respirator pressure sensors, Gaussian bandpass filters were applied to the CSF spectrogram to extract the time-domain cardiac- and respiratory-driven waveforms. RESULTS: The cardiac-driven CSF velocity component appeared in the spectrogram clearly under all respiratory conditions. The respiratory-driven velocity under the controlled respiratory cycles was observed as constant frequency signals, compared to a time-varying frequency signal under free breathing. When the widow width was optimized using the scale factor, the temporal change in the respiratory-driven CSF component was even more apparent under free breathing. CONCLUSION: Velocity amplitude variations and transient frequency changes of both cardiac- and respiratory-driven components were successfully characterized. These findings indicated that the proposed technique is useful for evaluating CSF motions driven by different cyclic forces.

Intraoperative MR Imaging during Glioma Resection.

One of the major issues in the surgical treatment of gliomas is the concern about maximizing the extent of resection while minimizing neurological impairment. Thus, surgical planning by carefully observing the relationship between the glioma infiltration area and eloquent area of the connecting fibers is crucial. Neurosurgeons usually detect an eloquent area by functional MRI and identify a connecting fiber by diffusion tensor imaging. However, during surgery, the accuracy of neuronavigation can be decreased due to brain shift, but the positional information may be updated by intraoperative MRI and the next steps can be planned accordingly. In addition, various intraoperative modalities may be used to guide surgery, including neurophysiological monitoring that provides real-time information (e.g., awake surgery, motor-evoked potentials, and sensory evoked potential); photodynamic diagnosis, which can identify high-grade glioma cells; and other imaging techniques that provide anatomical information during the surgery. In this review, we present the historical and current context of the intraoperative MRI and some related approaches for an audience active in the technical, clinical, and research areas of radiology, as well as mention important aspects regarding safety and types of devices.

Differentiation between ICA and ECA Feeder Distributions in Meningioma Using MR Perfusion Original Image.

OBJECTIVE: Preoperative information regarding tumor feeder distribution is important in meningioma surgery. We aimed to examine the relationship between the contrast-enhancement pattern in meningioma on magnetic resonance (MR) perfusion images and the feeder pattern. METHODS: The subjects were 21 patients diagnosed with meningioma who underwent MR perfusion imaging between 2017 and 2020. RESULTS: The distribution of feeders from the internal carotid artery (ICA) system or external carotid artery (ECA) system within the tumor based on angiograms was compared with that in areas of enhancement on original MR perfusion images in seven of 21 patients who underwent cerebral angiography. The aspect ratios of tumors, which was defined as the ratio of the area of contrast enhancement to the length of the enhanced area in contact with the tumor margin on the early-phase MR perfusion images, supplied by the ICA (pial feeder pattern) and ECA (dural feeder pattern) systems were 0.12 ± 0.11 and 7.21 ± 4.99 (mean ± standard deviation), respectively (p < 0.0001). MR perfusion imaging in all 21 patients revealed higher frequency of the pial feeder pattern in patients with peritumoral edema (p = 0.0009). CONCLUSION: The distribution of pial and dural feeders within a meningioma could be distinguished by the aspect ratio based on original MR perfusion images.

Temperature measurement of intracranial cerebrospinal fluid using second-order motion compensation diffusion tensor imaging.

To reduce the determination errors of CSF pulsation in diffusion-weighted image (DWI) thermometry, we investigated whether applying second-order motion compensation diffusion tensor imaging (2nd-MC DTI) and fractional anisotropy (FA) processing improves the measurement of intracranial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) temperature. In a phantom study, we investigated the relationship between temperature and FA in artificial CSF (ACSF) to determine the threshold for FA processing. The calculated temperatures of ACSF were compared with those of water. In a human study, 18 healthy volunteers were scanned using conventional DTI (c-DTI) and 2nd-MC DTI on a 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. A temperature map was created using diffusion coefficients from each DWI with/without FA processing. The temperatures of intracranial CSF were compared between each DTI image using Welch's analysis of variance and Games-Howell's multiple comparisons. In the phantom study, FA did not exceed 0.1 at any temperature. Consequently, pixels exceeding the threshold of 0.1 were removed from the temperature map. Intracranial CSF temperatures significantly differed between the four methods (p < 0.0001). The lowest temperature was 2nd-MC DTI with FA processing (mean, 35.62 °C), followed in order by c-DTI with FA processing (mean, 36.16 °C), 2nd-MC DTI (mean, 37.08 °C), and c-DTI (mean, 39.08 °C;p < 0.01 for each). Because the calculated temperature of ACSF was estimated to be lower than that of water, the temperature of 2nd-DTI with FA processing was considered reasonable. The method of 2nd-MC DTI with FA processing enabled determining intracranial CSF temperature with a reduction in CSF pulsation.

Respiratory-driven Cyclic Cerebrospinal Fluid Motion in the Intracranial Cavity on Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Insights into the Pathophysiology of Neurofluid Dysfunction.

Neurofluids, a recently developed term that refers to interstitial fluids in the parenchyma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricle and subarachnoid space, play a role in draining waste products from the brain. Neurofluids have been implicated in pathological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and normal pressure hydrocephalus. Given that CSF moves faster in the CSF cavity than in the brain parenchyma, CSF motion can be detected by magnetic resonance imaging. CSF motion is synchronized to the heartbeat and respiratory cycle, but respiratory cycle-induced CSF motion has yet to be investigated in detail. Therefore, we analyzed CSF motion using dynamic improved motion-sensitized driven-equilibrium steady-state free precession-based analysis. We analyzed CSF motion linked to the respiratory cycle in four women and six men volunteers aged 23 to 38 years. We identified differences between free respiration and tasked respiratory cycle-associated CSF motion in the ventricles and subarachnoid space. Our results indicate that semi-quantitative analysis can be performed using the cranial site at which CSF motion is most prominent as a standard. Our findings may serve as a reference for elucidating the pathophysiology of diseases caused by abnormalities in neurofluids.

Optimization of the Clinical Setting Using Numerical Simulations of the Electromagnetic Field in an Obese Patient Model for Deep Regional Hyperthermia of an 8 MHz Radiofrequency Capacitively Coupled Device in the Pelvis.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the clinical setting for deep regional hyperthermia of an 8 MHz radiofrequency (RF) capacitively coupled device in the pelvis by using numerical simulations of the electromagnetic field. Methods: A three-dimensional patient model of cervical cancer of the uterus in an obese patient was reconstructed with computed tomography data. The specific absorption rate (SAR) and temperature distributions among the various heating settings were evaluated using numerical simulations. Results: The averaged SAR value of the deep target tumor was similar between with or without overlay boluses (OBs), and that of the subcutaneous fat (SF) at the edges of cooling boluses with OBs was lower than that of the SF without OBs. The use of OBs reduced the overheating of the SF. The 0.5% salt solution in the OB produced the least overheated areas outside the deep target tumor compared with the other concentrations. The insertion of the intergluteal cleft (IGC) bolus could improve the temperature concentration of the deep target tumor. Conclusions: The use of OBs and the salt solution concentration in the OB were important to optimize the temperature distribution. IGC bolus might contribute to temperature optimization. Further studies with individualized numerical simulations in each patient are expected.

Characterization of Cardiac- and Respiratory-driven Cerebrospinal Fluid Motions Using a Correlation Mapping Technique Based on Asynchronous Two-dimensional Phase Contrast MR Imaging.

PURPOSE: The cardiac- and respiratory-driven components of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) motion characteristics and bulk flow are not yet completely understood. Therefore, the present study aimed to characterize cardiac- and respiratory-driven CSF motions in the intracranial space using delay time, CSF velocity waveform correlation, and displacement. METHODS: Asynchronous two-dimensional phase-contrast at 3T was applied to measure the CSF velocity in the inferior-superior direction in a sagittal slice at the midline (N = 12) and an axial slice at the foramen magnum (N = 8). Volunteers were instructed to engage in six-second respiratory cycles. The calculated delay time and correlation coefficients of the cardiac- and respiratory-driven velocity waveforms, separated in the frequency domain, were applied to evaluate the propagation of the CSF motion. The cardiac- and respiratory-driven components of the CSF displacement and motion volume were calculated during diastole and systole, and during inhalation and exhalation, respectively. The cardiac- and respiratory-driven components of the velocity, correlation, displacement, and motion volume were compared using an independent two-sample t-test. RESULTS: The ratio of the cardiac-driven CSF velocity to the sum of the cardiac- and respiratory-driven CSF velocities was higher than the equivalent respiratory-driven ratio for all cases (P < 0.01). Delay time and correlation maps demonstrated that the cardiac-driven CSF motion propagated more extensively than the respiratory-driven CSF motion. The correlation coefficient of the cardiac-driven motion was significantly higher in the prepontine (P < 0.01), the aqueduct, and the fourth ventricle (P < 0.05). The respiratory-driven displacement and motion volume were significantly greater than the cardiac-driven equivalents for all observations (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The correlation mapping technique characterized the cardiac- and respiratory-driven CSF velocities and their propagation properties in the intracranial space. Based on these findings, cardiac-driven CSF velocity is greater than respiratory-induced velocity, but the respiratory-driven velocity might displace farther.

Visualization of Cerebrospinal Fluid Motion in the Whole Brain Using Three-dimensional Dynamic Improved Motion-sensitized Driven-equilibrium Steady-state Free Precession.

The feasibility of the 3D dynamic improved motion-sensitized driven-equilibrium steady-state free precession (3D dynamic iMSDE SSFP) was evaluated for visualizing CSF motion and the appropriate parameters were determined. Both flow phantom and volunteer studies revealed that linear ordering and the shortest acquisition duration time were optimal. 3D dynamic iMSDE SSFP provides good quality imaging of CSF motion in the whole brain and enables visualization of flow in arbitrary planes from a single 3D volume scan.

Recent technological advancements in thermometry.

Thermometry is the key factor for achieving successful thermal therapy. Although invasive thermometry with a probe has been used for more than four decades, this method can only detect the local temperature within the probing volume. Noninvasive temperature imaging using a tomographic technique is ideal for monitoring hot-spot formation in the human body. Among various techniques, such as X-ray computed tomography, microwave tomography, echo sonography, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, the proton resonance frequency shift method of MR thermometry is the only method currently available for clinical practice because its temperature sensitivity is consistent in most aqueous tissues and can be easily observed using common clinical scanners. New techniques are being proposed to improve the robustness of this method against tissue motion. MR techniques for fat thermometry were also developed based on relaxation times. One of the latest non-MR techniques to attract attention is photoacoustic imaging.

Changing the Currently Held Concept of Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics Based on Shared Findings of Cerebrospinal Fluid Motion in the Cranial Cavity Using Various Types of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Techniques.

The "cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation theory" of CSF flowing unidirectionally and circulating through the ventricles and subarachnoid space in a downward or upward fashion has been widely recognized. In this review, observations of CSF motion using different magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques are described, findings that are shared among these techniques are extracted, and CSF motion, as we currently understand it based on the results from the quantitative analysis of CSF motion, is discussed, along with a discussion of slower water molecule motion in the perivascular, paravascular, and brain parenchyma. Today, a shared consensus regarding CSF motion is being formed, as follows: CSF motion is not a circulatory flow, but a combination of various directions of flow in the ventricles and subarachnoid space, and the acceleration of CSF motion differs depending on the CSF space. It is now necessary to revise the currently held concept that CSF flows unidirectionally. Currently, water molecule motion in the order of centimeters per second can be detected with various MRI techniques. Thus, we need new MRI techniques with high-velocity sensitivity, such as in the order of 10 µm/s, to determine water molecule movement in the vessel wall, paravascular space, and brain parenchyma. In this paper, the authors review the previous and current concepts of CSF motion in the central nervous system using various MRI techniques.

Cardiac-driven Pulsatile Motion of Intracranial Cerebrospinal Fluid Visualized Based on a Correlation Mapping Technique.

PURPOSE: A correlation mapping technique delineating delay time and maximum correlation for characterizing pulsatile cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) propagation was proposed. After proofing its technical concept, this technique was applied to healthy volunteers and idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) patients. METHODS: A time-resolved three dimensional-phase contrast (3D-PC) sampled the cardiac-driven CSF velocity at 32 temporal points per cardiac period at each spatial location using retrospective cardiac gating. The proposed technique visualized distributions of propagation delay and correlation coefficient of the PC-based CSF velocity waveform with reference to a waveform at a particular point in the CSF space. The delay time was obtained as the amount of time-shift, giving the maximum correlation for the velocity waveform at an arbitrary location with that at the reference location. The validity and accuracy of the technique were confirmed in a flow phantom equipped with a cardiovascular pump. The technique was then applied to evaluate the intracranial CSF motions in young, healthy (N = 13), and elderly, healthy (N = 13) volunteers and iNPH patients (N = 13). RESULTS: The phantom study demonstrated that root mean square error of the delay time was 2.27%, which was less than the temporal resolution of PC measurement used in this study (3.13% of a cardiac cycle). The human studies showed a significant difference (P < 0.01) in the mean correlation coefficient between the young, healthy group and the other two groups. A significant difference (P < 0.05) was also recognized in standard deviation of the correlation coefficients in intracranial CSF space among all groups. The result suggests that the CSF space compliance of iNPH patients was lower than that of healthy volunteers. CONCLUSION: The correlation mapping technique allowed us to visualize pulsatile CSF velocity wave propagations as still images. The technique may help to classify diseases related to CSF dynamics, such as iNPH.

MR techniques for guiding high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatments.

To make full use of the ability of magnetic resonance (MR) to guide high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment, effort has been made to improve techniques for thermometry, motion tracking, and sound beam visualization. For monitoring rapid temperature elevation with proton resonance frequency (PRF) shift, data acquisition and processing can be accelerated with parallel imaging and/or sparse sampling in conjunction with appropriate signal processing methods. Thermometry should be robust against tissue motion, motion-induced magnetic field variation, and susceptibility change. Thus, multibaseline, referenceless, or hybrid techniques have become important. In cases with adipose or bony tissues, for which PRF shift cannot be used, thermometry with relaxation times or signal intensity may be utilized. Motion tracking is crucial not only for thermometry but also for targeting the focus of an ultrasound in moving organs such as the liver, kidney, or heart. Various techniques for motion tracking, such as those based on an anatomical image atlas with optical-flow displacement detection, a navigator echo to seize the diaphragm position, and/or rapid imaging to track vessel positions, have been proposed. Techniques for avoiding the ribcage and near-field heating have also been examined. MR acoustic radiation force imaging (MR-ARFI) is an alternative to thermometry that can identify the location and shape of the focal spot and sound beam path. This technique could be useful for treating heterogeneous tissue regions or performing transcranial therapy. All of these developments, which will be discussed further in this review, expand the applicability of HIFU treatments to a variety of clinical targets while maintaining safety and precision. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 4 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:316-331.

The Choroid Plexus of the Lateral Ventricle As the Origin of CSF Pulsation Is Questionable.

The advent of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enables noninvasive measurement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) motion, and new information about CSF motion has now been acquired. The driving force of the CSF has long been thought to be choroid plexus (CP) pulsation, but to investigate whether this phenomenon actually occurs, CSF motion was observed in the ventricular system and subarachnoid space using MRI. Eleven healthy volunteers, ranging in age from 23 to 58 years, participated in this study. The MRI sequences used were four-dimensional phase-contrast (4D-PC) and time-spatial labeling inversion pulse (t-SLIP). The 4D-PC images included sagittal images in the cranial midline, coronal images focusing on the foramen of Monro (FOM), and oblique coronal images of the trigone to quantify CSF velocity and acceleration. These values were compared and analyzed as non-parametric data using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the Mann-Whitney U test. 4D-PC showed that the median CSF velocity was significantly lower in the posterior part of the lateral ventricle than in other regions. The quantitative analysis of velocity and acceleration showed that they were decreased around the CP in the trigone. Image analysis of both velocity mapping and t-SLIP showed suppressed CSF motion around the CP in the trigone. These findings cast doubt on CP pulsation being the driving force for CSF motion.

Hyperdynamic CSF motion profiles found in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus and Alzheimer's disease assessed by fluid mechanics derived from magnetic resonance images.

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) does not only ascertain morphological features, but also measures physiological properties such as fluid velocity or pressure gradient. The purpose of this study was to investigate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics in patients with morphological abnormalities such as enlarged brain ventricles and subarachnoid spaces. We used a time-resolved three dimensional phase contrast (3D-PC) MRI technique to quantitatively evaluate CSF dynamics in the Sylvian aqueduct of healthy elderly individuals and patients with either idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) or Alzheimer's disease (AD) presenting with ventricular enlargement. METHODS: Nineteen healthy elderly individuals, ten iNPH patients, and seven AD patients (all subjects ≥ 60 years old) were retrospectively evaluated 3D-PC MRI. The CSF velocity, pressure gradient, and rotation in the Sylvian aqueduct were quantified and compared between the three groups using Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in velocity among the three groups. The pressure gradient was not significantly different between the iNPH and AD groups, but was significantly different between the iNPH group and the healthy controls (p < 0.001), and similarly, between the AD group and the healthy controls (p < 0.001). Rotation was not significantly different between the iNPH and AD groups, but was significantly different between the iNPH group and healthy controls (p < 0.001), and similarly, between the AD group and the healthy controls (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative analysis of CSF dynamics with time resolved 3D-PC MRI revealed differences and similarities in the Sylvian aqueduct between healthy elderly individuals, iNPH patients, and AD patients. The results showed that CSF motion is in a hyperdynamic state in both iNPH and AD patient groups compared to healthy elderly individuals, and that iNPH patients and AD patients display similar CSF motion profiles.

Characterization of cardiac- and respiratory-driven cerebrospinal fluid motion based on asynchronous phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging in volunteers.

BACKGROUND: A classification of cardiac- and respiratory-driven components of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) motion has been demonstrated using echo planar imaging and time-spatial labeling inversion pulse techniques of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, quantitative characterization of the two motion components has not been performed to date. Thus, in this study, the velocities and displacements of the waveforms of the two motions were quantitatively evaluated based on an asynchronous two-dimensional (2D) phase-contrast (PC) method followed by frequency component analysis. METHODS: The effects of respiration and cardiac pulsation on CSF motion were investigated in 7 healthy subjects under guided respiration using asynchronous 2D-PC 3-T MRI. The respiratory and cardiac components in the foramen magnum and aqueduct were separated, and their respective fractions of velocity and amount of displacement were compared. RESULTS: For velocity in the Sylvian aqueduct and foramen magnum, the fraction attributable to the cardiac component was significantly greater than that of the respiratory component throughout the respiratory cycle. As for displacement, the fraction of the respiratory component was significantly greater than that of the cardiac component in the aqueduct regardless of the respiratory cycle and in the foramen magnum in the 6- and 10-s respiratory cycles. There was no significant difference between the fractions in the 16-s respiratory cycle in the foramen magnum. CONCLUSIONS: To separate cardiac- and respiratory-driven CSF motions, asynchronous 2D-PC MRI was performed under respiratory guidance. For velocity, the cardiac component was greater than the respiratory component. In contrast, for the amount of displacement, the respiratory component was greater.

Visualization of kidney fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy by long diffusion tensor imaging MRI with spin-echo sequence.

Renal fibrosis (RF) is an indicator for progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Although diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of CKD and end-stage renal disease in Western populations, the ability of MRI to evaluate RF in DN patients has not been determined. As a first step to identify possible MRI methods for RF evaluation, we examined the use of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) MRI to evaluate RF in a rat model of DN (SHR/NDmcr-cp(cp/cp): SHR/ND). The signal-to-noise ratio in DTI MRI was enhanced using a spin-echo sequence, and a special kidney attachment was developed for long-term stabilization. The changes in renal temperature and blood flow during measurement were minimal, suggesting the feasibility of this method. At 38 weeks of age, RF had aggressively accumulated in the outer stripe (OS) of the outer medulla. FA maps showed that this method was successful in visualizing and evaluating fibrosis in the OS of the SHR/ND rat kidney (r = 0.7697, P = 0.0126). Interestingly, in the FA color maps, the directions of water molecule diffusion in RF were random, but distinct from conventional water diffusion in brain neuron fibers. These findings indicate that DTI MRI may be able to evaluate RF in CKD by DN.