Assessment of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) volumetrics and kinetics for drug delivery

Active Research Project
Investigator(s): 
Jonathan Dyke, Ph.D., D.A.B.M.P.
Related Institute: 
Last Updated: 
April 7, 2022

Delivery of various drugs in both intrathecal and intracisternal spaces are being used to treat a myriad of diseases.  Knowledge of the rate of drug delivery to each region in the brain via the CSF space may be estimated by using MRI.  Our lab published the first time course results of intrathecal gadolinium uptake in CSF and brain regions in normal control subjects using high resolution MRI.  In addition, total CSF volumetrics were also calculated as a means for normalizing drug dosing for each patient in an ongoing gene therapy trial.   

Related Publications: (1) Chazen LJ, Dyke JP, Holt RW, Horky L, Pauplis RA, Hesterman JY, David Mozley P, Verma A.  Automated segmentation of MR imaging to determine normative central nervous system cerebrospinal fluid volumes in healthy volunteers. Clin. Imaging. 2017;43:132-135. (2) Dyke JP, Xu HS, Verma A, Voss HU, Chazen JL.  MRI characterization of early CNS transport kinetics post intrathecal gadolinium injection: trends of subarachnoid and parenchymal distribution in healthy volunteers. Clin. Imaging . 2020;68:1-6. 

fig1-csf (4).mp4

Gadolinium uptake
Gadolinium uptake as a function of time injected intrathecally into control brain. Regional uptake variation is shown via FreeSurfer, providing a basis for understanding future drug delivery timing.

Weill Cornell Medicine
Department of Radiology
525 East 68th Street New York, NY 10065