Vascular topology and blood flow are acutely impacted by experimental febrile status epilepticus

Abstract

Febrile status epilepticus (FSE) is an important risk factor for temporal lobe epilepsy and early identification of those at high risk for epilepsy is vital. In a rat model of FSE, we identified an acute (2 hrs) novel MRI signal where reduced T2 relaxation values in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) predicted epilepsy in adulthood; this T2 signal remains incompletely understood and we hypothesized that it may be influenced by vascular topology. Experimental FSE induced in rat pups reduced blood vessel density of the cortical vasculature in a lateralized manner at 2 hrs post FSE. Middle cerebral artery (MCA) exhibited abnormal topology in FSE pups but not in controls. In the BLA, significant vessel junction reductions and decreased vessel diameter were observed, together with a strong trend for reduced vessel length. Perfusion weighted MRI (PWI) was acutely increased cerebral blood flow (CBF) in cortex, amygdala and hippocampus of FSE pups that correlated to decreased T2 relaxation values compared to controls. This is consistent with increased levels of deoxyhemoglobin associated with increased metabolic demand. In summary, FSE acutely modifies vascular topological and CBF in cortex and BLA that may underlie acute MRI signal changes that predict progression to future epilepsy.

Quantitative association of cerebral blood flow, relaxation times and proton density in young and middle-aged primary insomnia patients: A prospective study using three-dimensional arterial spin labeling and synthetic magnetic resonance imaging

“…An interesting aspect of our study is the negative correlation between increased CBF and decreased T2 value. These correlations imply a link between increased deoxyhemoglobin (increased oxygen consumption) leads to reduced T2 and increased CBF, similar to previously reported conjecture ( Salehi et al, 2023 ). After 6 months of treatment, the T2 value of five PI patients also increased as the blood flow decreased.…”

Delayed cerebrovascular dysfunction and social deficits after traumatic brain injury

“…1B) at baseline and after TBI induction (3, 7, 14, 30, 60dpi) on a horizontal 30cm bore, 9.4Tesla MR scanner (Bruker Avance) equipped with a 72mm diameter volume excitation RF coil. Our perfusion weighted imaging (PWI) MRI methods are published 42 and described in more detail in the supplementary materials. Succinctly, mice were anesthetized (2% isoflurane) and tail veins were cannulated to facilitate contrast injection (0.1mmol/kg Gadoterate Meglumine diluted with sterile saline, Dotarem, Guerbet, Princeton, NJ).…”