Sonia Waiczies1, Laura Boehmert1, Jason M. Millward2, Stefanie Kox1, Joao dos Santos Perquito1, Till Huelnhagen1, Carmen Infante-Duarte2, Andreas Pohlmann1, and Thoralf Niendorf1,3
1Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (B.U.F.F.), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany, 2Institute for Medical Immunology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 3Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), a joint cooperation between the Charité Medical Faculty and the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany
Previously, we observed an enlargement of cerebral
ventricles, prior to clinical disease manifestation, in experimental autoimmune
encephalomyelitis (EAE). In this
study we investigated the kinetics of blood brain barrier (BBB) leakage in relation to changes in
ventricle size during EAE progression using pre- and post-contrast T1-weighted imaging
and T1-mapping. We show that BBB integrity is compromised even earlier than ventriculomegaly,
which already occurs prior to the occurrence of neurological symptoms. Furthermore, a partial renormalization and reappearance of BBB disruptions was observed
throughout the disease course and these changes appear to occur prior to the
normalization and re-expansion of ventricle size.
