[Functional imaging of cerebrospinal fluid pathology].

The most common problem addressed by dynamic radionuclide imaging of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) abnormalities is differentiating patients with normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) from those with other forms of degenerative brain disorder who would clearly not benefit from surgical treatment by ventricular shunting. Radionuclide cisternography (RC) SPECT and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) SPECT are critically important for the diagnosis and therapy management of patients with chronic hydrocephalus. However, radionuclide imaging is helpful not only in identifying patients with NPH showing improvement after shunting. RC reveals tracer activity outside the intracranial cavity, indeed. The importance of establishing the diagnosis arises from the fact that untreated leaks can be followed by meningitis in up to one quarter of patients. CSF collections may communicate with the subarachnoid space. RC SPECT has proved useful in assessing the communication of the arachnoid cysts (CSF collection) with the ventricular or subarachnoid compartment. Improved anatomical detail revealed by SPECT imaging is helpful in solving problems of the CSF pathology. Sensitive and accurate assessments of normal and disordered CSF dynamics can be obtained with RC SPECT.