The Relationships Between Spinal CSF Flows, Spinal Cord Geometry and Vascular Correlations: Evidence of Intrathecal Sources and Sinks.

The Relationships Between Spinal CSF Flows, Spinal Cord Geometry and Vascular Correlations: Evidence of Intrathecal Sources and Sinks. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2019 Jun 26;: Authors: Bert RJ, Settipalle N, Tiwana E, Muddasani D, Nath R, Wellman B, Mihlon FR, Negahdar MJ, Amini A, Boakye M Abstract We studied relationships of Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) pulsatile flow at cervical, thoracic and lumbar levels using Phase Contrast Cine Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PCCMRI) to determine: 1. Instantaneous and average net flows at cervical, thoracic and lumbar 2. Stochastic correlations of CSF flow with major arterial supplies and major draining veins. 3. If adjustments of cord flow curves using cord cross-sectional areas, caudal lengths and caudal volumes would normalizeflow curves from different levels. We scanned 15 healthy volunteers without anesthesia, ages 23-46 years, using external retrocardiac-gated 2D PCCCMRI at 3T. Transverse scans of the subarachnoid space, arteries, and veins were acquired and analyzed at cervical, thoracic and lumbar levels. Instantaneous CSF flow decreased craniocaudally along the full time-course of a cardiac cycle. Downward net flow generally increased craniocaudally. During diastole, instantaneous CSF flow decreased proportionally to cross-sectional area, caudal residual length and caudal residual volume of the cord. The proportionalities were less consistent during systole. CSF, internal caro...
Source: American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology - Category: Physiology Authors: Tags: Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol Source Type: research