Feasibility of relaxation-exchange magnetic resonance imaging (REXI) for measuring water exchange across the blood-CSF barrier in the human choroid plexus.

ABSTRACT: The choroid plexus (CP) is important for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) secretion and forms the blood-CSF barrier (BCSFB), which is essential for brain homeostasis. However, noninvasive methods for evaluating BCSFB function remain limited. Previously, we introduced a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, relaxation-exchange MRI (REXI), to quantify water exchange between CP and CSF in rats by leveraging the substantial difference in transverse relaxation times between CP tissue and CSF. Here, we adapted REXI to human applications by implementing segmented echo-planar imaging readout for enhanced acquisition speed, optimizing key parameters based on the Cramér-Rao lower bound, and refining the analysis methodology. We conducted simulations and phantom experiments for methodological va

SUBMITTER: Wu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12811102 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature