Assessment of arterial and venous sinuses cerebral blood flows in rats with phase contrast MRI

Motivation: Several human cerebral diseases are associated to neurofluids dynamics alterations and continue to require preclinical research studies. Rat models were widely used to understand these diseases but its cerebral hemodynamic is not fully elucidated. Phase contrast (PCMRI) allows noninvasive quantification of blood flow dynamics. Goal(s): Our goal was to investigate both cerebral arterial and venous sinuses flows in rats. Approach: Twelve Sprague-Dawley rats underwent a 7T preclinical MRI. PCMRI quantified blood flows dynamics in the internal/external carotid arteries, basilar artery and transverse sinuses during cardiac cycle. Results: We obtained physiological references of cerebral blood flows parameters for these main cerebral vessels in rats. Impact: This study highlights the potential of PCMRI to investigate cerebral blood flows dynamics in rats. These findings may be important to study neurofluids dynamics interactions, pressure and compliance, to better understand human idiopathic pathologies such as hydrocephalus and intracranial hypertension.