Osmotic blood-brain barrier modification: clinical documentation by enhanced CT scanning and/or radionuclide brain scanning

Journal Article · Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1983 · AJR, Am. J. Roentgenol.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2214/ajr.141.4.829· OSTI ID:5653570

Neuwelt, E A ^[1]; Specht, H D; Howieson, J; Haines, J E; Bennett, M J; Hill, S A; Frenkel, E P

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1. Oregon Health Sciences Univ., Portland

Results of initial clinical trials of brain tumor chemotherapy after osmotic blood-brain barrier disruption are promising. In general, the procedure is well tolerated. The major complication has been seizures. In this report, data are presented which indicate that the etiology of these seizures is related to the use of contrast agent (meglumine iothalamate) to monitor barrier modification. A series of 19 patients underwent a total of 85 barrier modification procedures. Documentation of barrier disruption was monitored by contrast-enhanced computed tomographic (CT) scanning, radionuclide brain scanning, or a combination of both techniques. In 56 procedures (19 patients) monitored by enhanced CT, seizures occurred a total of 10 times in eight patients. Twenty-three barrier modification procedures (in nine of these 19 patients) documented by nuclear brain scans alone, however, resulted in only one focal motor seizure in each of two patients. Clearly, the radionuclide brain scan does not have the sensitivity and spatial resolution of enhanced CT, but at present it appears safer to monitor barrier modification by this method and to follow tumor growth between barrier modifications by enhanced CT. Four illustrative cases showing methods, problems, and promising results are presented.

• OSTI ID: 5653570
• Journal Information: AJR, Am. J. Roentgenol.; (United States), Vol. 141:4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER
PHYSIOLOGY
BRAIN
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
RADIOISOTOPE SCANNING
CONTRAST MEDIA
SIDE EFFECTS
CHEMOTHERAPY
NEOPLASMS
OSMOSIS
PATIENTS
BODY
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DIFFUSION
DISEASES
NERVOUS SYSTEM
ORGANS
THERAPY
TOMOGRAPHY
550602* - Medicine- External Radiation in Diagnostics- (1980-)
551000 - Physiological Systems