Washable pads or disposable diapers?
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R Grant.
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A new technique is described that utilises a novel magnetic resonance pulse sequence to produce a quantitative index both for ventricular and, for the first time, extraventricular intracranial CSF volumes. The pulse sequence is a combination of a null-point inversion recovery sequence with an extended spin-echo read (echo time = 400 ms), which produces a contrast of CSF to white or grey matter of approximately 120:1. A series of experiments are performed on phantoms representing CSF filled ventricles and sulci over a wide range of volume values, and it is found that the standard deviation of differences between true and estimated values is 3.9% for ventricles, 4.6% for total cranial CSF, and 7.9% for CSF within the sulci. Normal volunteer reproducibility studies revealed corresponding standard deviations of less than 5.5%. Using the technique to produce absolute estimates of CSF volumes in normal subjects and patients produced results in good agreement with previously published necropsy studies. The technique has wide neurological and neurosurgical applicability particularly in terms of differential diagnosis and as an objective monitor of therapy or progression in conditions such as hydrocephalus, atrophy, and benign intracranial hypertension.
A review of 15 recent publications purporting to provide the relaxation times of CSF reveals a considerable disparity in the quoted results, by a factor of five in terms of T1 (range 1,000 to 5,500 ms) and by a factor of 16 for T2 (range 166 to 2,640 ms). In this article measurements are performed independently on both a spectrometer and an imager. The results indicate that for CSF T1 is greater than 3,000 ms and T2 is approximately 2,000 ms at 6 MHz. The vast differences in relaxation behaviour between CSF and other body tissues have considerable clinical implications and present profound diagnostic opportunities. The application of this knowledge to ventriculography, myelography, and image contrast methodology is discussed.
We used magnetic resonance to investigate the hypothesis that premenstrual neurological symptoms are due to cerebral oedema and brain swelling. Total cranial and lateral ventricular CSF volumes were measured midcycle and premenstrually in 20 women with a normal menstrual cycle, and similar measurements were made 2 weeks apart in 10 postmenopausal women and 10 men. Total cranial CSF volume increased premenstrually in 19 women. The mean premenstrual increase was by 11.5 ml. There was not a significant difference between those women who were taking an oral contraceptive and those who were not. The CSF volume did not change significantly on repeat measurement in men and postmenopausal women. The CSF changes observed reflect a reduction in brain volume and do not support cerebral swelling as the cause of premenstrual neurological symptoms.
The antiretroviral drugs azidothymidine (AZT) and 9-(-2-phosphonyl-methoxyethyl)adenine (PMEA) were individually tested for prevention of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVmne) infection in macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Macaques were pretreated with either drug before inoculation with SIVmne, and drug treatment was continued for four weeks. The virus, antibody, and clinical status of the macaques was monitored for up to 36 weeks following inoculation. While AZT prophylaxis resulted in reduced virus load in some macaques, PMEA prophylaxis was highly efficacious in preventing acute SIVmne infection.
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