Abstract #1059

The Effect of Increasing Concentrations of Intracranial Albumin on Fluid Flow Rates Within Adjacent White Matter Tracts in Rats

Carmen Kut¹, Vadappuram Chacko², Betty Tyler³, Arvind Pathak², Zaver M. Bhujwalla⁴, Xingde Li¹, Elliot R. McVeigh¹, Daniel A. Herzka⁵, Stuart A. Grossman⁶

¹Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Radiology, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States; ³Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, 21205, United States; ⁴Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁵Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁶Oncology, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States

In most systemic cancers, tumor cells are passively disseminated via flow to lymph nodes. Although the brain does not contain lymphatics, glioma dissemination in the brain may be a function of extracellular fluid along white matter tracts (WMT). Malignant brain tumors are characterized by a disrupted blood-brain-barrier that results in albumin leaking from blood vessels, which osmotically pulls water into brain. Our animal study (n = 19) shows that high albumin concentrations are positively correlated with high flow rates and MRI results are promising and provides a non-invasive method to trace WMT flow rates in patients.