Radiographic quantitation of reversible blood-brain barrier disruption in vivo.

Cranial computed tomography (CT) was used to quantitate disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in dogs in vivo following intracarotid infusion of hypertonic mannitol. The degree of opening varied with the same dose and infusion rate. The ratio of contrast enhancement in brain vs. venous blood was elevated in 4 of 5 mannitol-treated animals, with the greatest enhancement occurring in the ipsilateral basal ganglia and cortical gray matter. The statistical significance and reproducibility of the derived CT numbers used for brain and venous blood calculations, as well as the linear relationship between iodine concentration and CT enhancement, was affirmed by obtaining multiple consecutive scans.