[Understanding of cerebrospinal fluid hydrodynamics in idiopathic hydrocephalus (A) Visualization of CSF bulk flow with MRI time-spatial labeling pulse method (time-SLIP)].

Cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) hydrodynamics in normal and hydrocephalic brain was observed noninvasively using a time-spatial labeling inversion pulse (SLIP) technique. A time-SLIP technique applied label to CSF in the region of interest so that CSF became internal CSF tracer. CSF hydrodynamics even in normal brain appeared to be much different from it was imagine from conventional CSF physiology text books. Various amplitudes of pulsatile CSF flow were observed in the different regions of the brain. CSF hydrodynamics altered when hydrocephalus was developed. A time-SLIP CSF flow imaging is helpful to understand CSF hydrodynamics in the normal physiological and hydrocephalic brain. It may be useful to distinguish the hydrocephalus brain from the senile atrophic brain.