Age-related changes in the distribution of intravenously administered gadolinium-based contrast agents leaked into the cerebrospinal fluid in patients with suspected endolymphatic hydrops

The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the relationship between age and leakage of intravenously administered gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by volumetric segmentation of the whole-cranium CSF. In 30 patients clinically diagnosed with suspected endolymphatic hydrops, the three-dimensional real inversion recovery (3D-real IR) images were obtained at pre- and 4 h post-intravenous administration of a single dose of GBCA. The volume of interest was set on the whole-cranium CSF in the 3D-real IR image. The signal intensity (SI)-increase of the ventricular CSF and the extra-ventricular CSF at 4 h post-administration of GBCA compared to pre-administration was measured. The relationship between the age of the patient and the SI-increase was evaluated. A correlation between age and the SI-increase was observed in the whole-cranium CSF. The correlation coefficient between age and the SI-increase in the ventricular CSF was higher than that in the extra-ventricular CSF. An age-related leakage of the intravenously administered GBCAs was found in the whole-brain CSF. The age-related change in the distribution of the GBCA leakage was more prominent in the ventricular CSF than in the extra-ventricular CSF.