Sang-Pil Lee1,2,
Jieun Kim1, Nancy Berman3
1Hoglund Brain Imaging Center,
University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States; 2Molecular
and Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City,
KS, United States; 3Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas
Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States
Measuring
blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability in mice has been challenging because
estimation of vascular contrast agent concentrations in the blood is
especially difficulty due to the requirement of very high spatial
resolution. We have overcome the
difficulty by combining pre-contrast T1 mapping and high-resolution spin-echo
T1-weighted imaging. We have successfully quantified BBB permeability in vivo
from the signal changes associated with uptake of Gd-DTPA following traumatic
brain injury using the Patlak plot technique. Results show that significant
entry of Gd into the brain was evident in the injury site with excellent
linear relationship between tissue concentration of Gd and the stretched
time.
Keywords