Brain elasticity changes with ventriculomegaly.
The pressure-volume relationship of brain elasticity was determined in 32 patients during servo-controlled variable-rate lumbar infusions to measure net cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) absorptive capacity. Several indices were used to estimate ventricular size from computerized tomography scans. The results show a linear relationship between ventricular size and the elasticity slope which relates the natural logarithm of pressure to volume. It follows that a hydrocephalic patient should show a greater intracranial pulse amplitude at a given pressure than does a patient with normal-sized ventricles. Although these elasticity changes may simply be the result of the ventriculomegaly, it seems possible that the pressure-volume elasticity relationship may be of etiological importance in disorders of the CSF system.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004285:Dogs; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology; D007223:Infant; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D007427:Intracranial Pressure; D008875:Middle Aged; D011559:Pseudotumor Cerebri / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology