A method for measuring first glymphatic influx of a cerebrospinal fluid tracer in the human brain.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The glymphatic system is a brain-wide perivascular transport route for fluids and solutes in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) serves as a conduit for solute transport and clearance of brain waste. Intrathecal contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), where the intrathecal contrast agent serves as a CSF tracer, has been developed to measure glymphatic function in humans. The normalized MRI T1 signal is a semiquantitative measure of CSF flow and exchange with the brain. Objective: To estimate first-time tracer appearance within brain tissue after intrathecal tracer injection.

Methods

This study implemented segmented regression analysis to estimate the first-time tracer appearance of an intrathecal tracer within brain tissues. An increase (breakpoint) in t

SUBMITTER: Pripp AH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12757395 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature