Jason Gregory Mandell1,2, Thomas Neuberger3,
Corina S. Drapaca1, Andrew G. Webb4, Steven J. Schiff1,5
1Center for Neural Engineering,
Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State
University, University Park, PA, United States; 2Department of
Bioengineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United
States; 3Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State
University, University Park, PA, United States; 4C.J. Gorter
Center for High Field MRI, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical
Center, Leiden, Netherlands; 5Departments of Neurosurgery and
Physics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
Hydrocephalus
has traditionally been quantified by linear measurements of ventricle size.
However, clinical outcome is related to brain cognitive function, which is
more directly related to brain volume. We quantified brain and ventricular
volume growth in normal versus kaolin-induced hydrocephalic development in
mice from ages 2-12 weeks using 14T MRI. Hydrocephalic mice responded with
brain growth either consistent with or faster than normal, correlating to the
absence or presence of parenchymal edema. Clinical measurements were unable
to discriminate between these patterns, demonstrating the clinical importance
of brain volume measurements and the feasibility of constructing normative
brain and fluid growth curves.