Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Feb 20:2013:905279.
doi: 10.1155/2013/905279. eCollection 2013.

Measurement of blood-brain barrier permeability with t1-weighted dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in brain tumors: a comparative study with two different algorithms

Maurizio Bergamino  1 , Laura Saitta  2 , Laura Barletta  2 , Laura Bonzano  1 , Giovanni Luigi Mancardi  1 , Lucio Castellan  2 , Jean Louis Ravetti  3 , Luca Roccatagliata  4
Affiliations

Measurement of blood-brain barrier permeability with t1-weighted dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in brain tumors: a comparative study with two different algorithms

Maurizio Bergamino et al. ISRN Neurosci. .

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of measuring different permeability parameters with T1-weighted dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in order to investigate the blood brain-barrier permeability associated with different brain tumors. The Patlak algorithm and the extended Tofts-Kety model were used to this aim. Twenty-five adult patients with tumors of different histological grades were enrolled in this study. MRI examinations were performed at 1.5 T. Multiflip angle, fast low-angle shot, and axial 3D T1-weighted images were acquired to calculate T1 maps, followed by a DCE acquisition. A region of interest was placed within the tumor of each patient to calculate the mean value of different permeability parameters. Differences in permeability measurements were found between different tumor grades, with higher histological grades characterized by higher permeability values. A significant difference in transfer constant (K (trans)) values was found between the two methods on high-grade tumors; however, both techniques revealed a significant correlation between the histological grade of tumors and their K (trans) values. Our results suggest that DCE acquisition is feasible in patients with brain tumors and that K (trans) maps can be easily obtained by these two algorithms, even if the theoretical model adopted could affect the final results.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Image and intensity data from a 69-year old female patient with glioblastoma multiforme (WHO IV). (a) T1-weighted postcontrast image. (b) Relative K trans⁡ map. (c) Signal intensity plot for a region of the tumor and for a portion of healthy brain tissue.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A statistically significant correlation was observed between mean K trans⁡ and tumor grade for both Patlak algorithm ((a): r = 0.54  (P = 0.004)) and for the ETK model ((b): r = 0.58  (P = 0.002)).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gaitán MI, Shea CD, Evangelou IE, et al. Evolution of the blood-brain barrier in newly forming multiple sclerosis lesions. Annals of Neurology. 2011;70(1):22–29. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Taheri S, Gasparovic C, Huisa BN, et al. Blood-brain barrier permeability abnormalities in vascular cognitive impairment. Stroke. 2011;42(8):2158–2163. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kassner A, Mandell DM, Mikulis DJ. Measuring permeability in acute ischemic stroke. Neuroimaging Clinics of North America. 2011;21(2):315–325. - PubMed
    1. Viggars AP, Wharton SB, Simpson JE, et al. Alterations in the blood brain barrier in ageing cerebral cortex in relationship to Alzheimer-type pathology: a study in the MRC-CFAS population neuropathology cohort. Neuroscience Letters. 2011;505(1):25–30. - PubMed
    1. Larsson HBW, Tofts PS. Measurement of blood-brain barrier permeability using dynamic Gd-DTPA scanning—a comparison of methods. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 1992;24(1):174–176. - PubMed