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. 2023 Feb;46(1):134-143.
doi: 10.1016/j.bj.2022.01.006. Epub 2022 Jan 21.

Altered diffusivity of the subarachnoid cisterns in the rat brain following neurological disorders

Jun Tazoe  1 , Chia-Feng Lu  2 , Bao-Yu Hsieh  3 , Cheng-Yu Chen  4 , Yu-Chieh Jill Kao  5
Affiliations

Altered diffusivity of the subarachnoid cisterns in the rat brain following neurological disorders

Jun Tazoe et al. Biomed J. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Although changes in diffusion characteristics of the brain parenchyma in neurological disorders are widely studied and used in clinical practice, the change in diffusivity in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) system is rarely reported. In this study, free water diffusion in the subarachnoid cisterns and ventricles of the rat brain was examined using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the effects of neurological disorders on diffusivity in CSF system were investigated.

Methods: Diffusion MRI and T2-weighted images were obtained in the intact rats, 24 h after ischemic stroke, and 50 days after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). We conducted the assessment of diffusivity in the rat brain in the subarachnoid cisterns around the midbrain, as well as the lateral ventricles. One-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to evaluate the change in mean diffusivity (MD) and MD histogram, respectively, in CSF system following different neurological disease.

Results: A significant decrease in the mean MD value of the subarachnoid cisterns was observed in the stroke rats compared with the intact and mTBI rats (p < 0.005). In addition, the skewness (p < 0.002), maximum MD (p < 0.002), and MD percentiles (p < 0.002) in the stroke rats differed significantly from those in the intact and mTBI rats. By contrast, no difference was observed in the mean MD value of the lateral ventricles among three groups of rats. We proposed that the assessment of the subarachnoid cisterns, rather than the lateral ventricles, in the rat brain would be useful in providing diffusion information in the CSF system.

Conclusions: Alterations in MD parameters of the subarachnoid cisterns after stroke provide evidence that brain injury may alter the characteristics of free water diffusion not only in the brain parenchyma but also in the CSF system.

Keywords: Histogram; Lateral ventricles; Mean diffusivity; Rats; Stroke; mTBI.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Representative MR images of intact (A), stroke (B), and mTBI (C) rats. The upper and lower rows show T2-weighted and DWIs, respectively. Although a significant infarct lesion (blue arrow head) was found in the right hemisphere at slices around the bregma in the stroke rats, no parenchymal damage was observed in the mTBI rats. No significant changes in the subarachnoid cisterns around the midbrain were found after stroke or mTBI. Inset, sagittal view of the rat brain.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
CSF system for diffusivity analysis. Rat brain atlas (orange line) overlaid to the corresponding T2-weighted images. The blue area is the subarachnoid cisterns around the midbrain (A) and the dorsal part of lateral ventricles (B). The light orange area is the white matter. Mean diffusivity (MD) maps of the subarachnoid cisterns around the midbrain (C) and the LVs (D) calculated from DWI in the representative rat. AC, ambient cistern; CA, cerebral aqueduct; IPC: interpeduncular cistern; LV: lateral ventricle; V3: third ventricle.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Significantly lower mean diffusivity (MD) value of the cisterns in the stroke rats. MD value (mean ± SD) of the cisterns (A) and LVs (B) was calculated in the intact, stroke, and mTBI rats. A significant difference in MD of the cisterns was observed between the intact and stroke groups, and the mTBI and stroke groups (One way ANOVA followed by Tukey HSD or Dunnett T3 post hoc test). The raster plot between MD value and number of pixels of the cisterns (C) and LVs (D) among all the rats. No significant relationship was observed between MD value and the number of pixels (Pearson's correlation test).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Positive skewness in mean diffusivity (MD) histogram of the cisterns in the stroke rats. The MD histogram of the cisterns (A) and LVs (B) in the intact, stroke, and mTBI rats. The histogram was normalized to the corresponding maximum frequency of each group.
FigS1
FigS1
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