Khader M. Hasan1,
Ponnada A. Narayana1
1Diagnostic
and Interventional Imaging, University of Texas Health Science Center at
Houston, Houston, TX, United States
Due to its close interplay with the vasculature, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) serves as a chemical conduit in intracranial pressure regulation and chemical function. Whole brain, sulcal and ventricular CSF volumes have been used as a marker of normal brain development and aging and atrophy in a host of pathologies, including closed traumatic brain injuries. In addition CSF chemical and metabolic content serves as a robust biomarker of neural degeneration. A comprehensive analysis of normative CSF compartmental volumetry, relaxometry and diffusimetry has not been described previously using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI). In this report, we applied novel and validated atlas-based segmentation methods for a detailed investigation of age dependent qMRI changes in the CSF compartments in both men and women