Background The choroid plexus is a major contributor to the generation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the maintenance of its electrolyte and metabolite balance. Here, we sought to characterize the blood flow dynamics of the choroid plexus using arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI to establish ASL as a non-invasive tool for choroid plexus function and disease studies. Methods Seven healthy volunteers were imaged on a 3T MR scanner. ASL images were acquired with 12 labeling durations and post labeling delays. Regions of the choroid plexus were manually segmented on high-resolution T 1 weighted images. Choroid plexus perfusion was characterized with a dynamic ASL perfusion model. Cerebral gray matter perfusion was also quantified for comparison. Results Kinetics of the ASL signal were clearly different in the choroid plexus than in gray matter. The choroid plexus has a significantly longer T 1 than the gray matter (2.33 ± 0.30 s vs. 1.85 ± 0.10 s, p < 0.02). The arterial transit time was 1.24 ± 0.20 s at the choroid plexus. The apparent blood flow to the choroid plexus was measured to be 39.5 ± 10.1 ml/100 g/min and 0.80 ± 0.31 ml/min integrated over the posterior lateral ventricles in both hemispheres. Correction with the choroid plexus weight yielded a blood flow of 80 ml/100 g/min. Conclusions Our findings suggest that ASL can provide a clinically feasible option to quantify the dynamic characteristics of choroid plexus blood flow. It also provides useful reference values of the choroid plexus perfusion. The long T 1 of the choroid plexus may suggest the transport of water from arterial blood to the CSF, potentially providing a method to quantify CSF generation.

中文翻译：

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动脉自旋标记脉络丛表观血流量的无创测量

背景脉络丛是产生脑脊液 (CSF) 并维持其电解质和代谢物平衡的主要因素。在这里，我们试图使用动脉自旋标记 (ASL) MRI 来表征脉络丛的血流动力学，以将 ASL 确立为脉络丛功能和疾病研究的非侵入性工具。方法 七名健康志愿者在 3T MR 扫描仪上成像。使用 12 个标记持续时间和标记后延迟获取 ASL 图像。在高分辨率 T 1 加权图像上手动分割脉络丛区域。脉络丛灌注的特点是动态 ASL 灌注模型。脑灰质灌注也被量化以进行比较。结果 脉络丛中 ASL 信号的动力学与灰质中明显不同。脉络丛的 T 1 明显长于灰质 (2.33 ± 0.30 s vs. 1.85 ± 0.10 s, p < 0.02)。脉络丛的动脉通过时间为 1.24 ± 0.20 s。测量到脉络丛的表观血流量为 39.5 ± 10.1 ml/100 g/min 和 0.80 ± 0.31 ml/min，在两个半球的后侧脑室积分。脉络丛重量的校正产生了 80 ml/100 g/min 的血流量。结论我们的研究结果表明，ASL 可以提供一种临床上可行的选择来量化脉络丛血流的动态特征。它还提供了脉络丛灌注的有用参考值。脉络丛的长 T 1 可能表明水从动脉血输送到脑脊液，可能提供一种量化脑脊液生成的方法。