• Clive B Beggs, Christopher Magnano, Simon J Shepherd, Karen Marr, Vesela Valnarov, David Hojnacki, Niels Bergsland, Pavel Belov, Steven Grisafi, Michael G Dwyer, Ellen Carl, Bianca Weinstock-Guttman, and Robert Zivadinov.
• Medical Biophysics Laboratory, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK.
• J Magn Reson Imaging. 2014 Nov 1;40(5):1215-22.

PurposeTo investigate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics in the aqueduct of Sylvius (AoS) in chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI)-positive and -negative healthy individuals using cine phase contrast imaging.Materials And MethodsFifty-one healthy individuals (32 CCSVI-negative and 19 age-matched CCSVI-positive subjects) were examined using Doppler sonography (DS). Diagnosis of CCSVI was established if subjects fulfilled ≥2 venous hemodynamic criteria on DS. CSF flow and velocity measures were quantified using a semiautomated method and compared with clinical and routine 3T MRI outcomes.ResultsCCSVI was associated with increased CSF pulsatility in the AoS. Net positive CSF flow was 32% greater in the CCSVI-positive group compared with the CCSVI-negative group (P = 0.008). This was accompanied by a 28% increase in the mean aqueductal characteristic signal (ie, the AoS cross-sectional area over the cardiac cycle) in the CCSVI-positive group compared with the CCSVI-negative group (P = 0.021).ConclusionCSF dynamics are altered in CCSVI-positive healthy individuals, as demonstrated by increased pulsatility. This is accompanied by enlargement of the AoS, suggesting that structural changes may be occurring in the brain parenchyma of CCSVI-positive healthy individuals.© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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