View clinical trials related to Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability.
Filter by:The purpose of the study is to confirm the applicability and usefulness of the novel method of assessment of the permeability of the blood-brain barrier and in monitoring of the treatment of patients with meningitis. The proposed technique is based on evaluation of the kinetics of the indocyanine green (ICG) outflow from the brain with the use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Usefulness of the NIRS-based method will be analyzed in relation to the reference method, which is contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) encompasses all pathological processes that affect the small vessels of the brain. On brain-MRI cSVD is characterized by structural brain abnormalities such as white matter lesions (WMLs). Clinically, cSVD is related to acute syndromes as lacunar stroke but also to more chronic health problems such as cognitive decline. Recent literature suggests that a disrupted blood brain barrier (BBB), leading to elevated BBB permeability, may play a pivotal role in the aetiology of cSVD and lacunar stroke. The BBB is a complex system of neuronal, glial and vascular cells which main function is to shield the brain from toxic components and regulate the homeostasis. Elucidating the role of the BBB may have far reaching consequences for the treatment of cSVD patients and the reduction of recurrence rate of the disease. This could lead to a better quality of life among cSVD patients and reduce the economic burden on society. Currently the exact contribution and extent of a possibly defective BBB in cSVD remains largely unclear, due to the lack of a reliable method to accurately quantify the BBB permeability in cSVD patients. As a result, the current treatment consists of treating the cardiovascular risk factors, often with poor results. Quantification of the BBB permeability provides an objective measure of the integrity of the BBB and as such aids the study of the role of the BBB. The aim of this study is to realize a clinically applicable MRI-method to quantify the BBB permeability. Moreover, the method can be used to study the involvement of BBB disruption in other neuropathologies including Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, hypertension and diabetes. Primary Study Objective: To realize a clinically applicable quantification of BBB permeability using DCE-MRI by determining the reproducibility of the DCE-MRI method Secondary Study Objective: To achieve the shortest scan duration without compromising the reliability of the BBB permeability quantification. Hypotheses: 1. Using an optimized DCE-MRI method to quantify the BBB permeability, the BBB permeability can be reliably determined in cSVD patients. 2. The scan duration can be shortened without compromising the reliability of the BBB permeability quantification.