CEREBRAL-ISCHEMIA AND WHITE-MATTER EDEMA IN EXPERIMENTAL HYDROCEPHALUS - A COMBINED IN-VIVO MRI AND MRS STUDY

T-2 and diffusion weighted MRI, as well as P-31 and H-1 MRS were perfo rmed in kaolin-induced hydrocephalic rats. Extracellular white matter edema was detected in the early stages of progressive hydrocephalus. P hosphocreatine (PCr)/inorganic phosphate (Pi) ratios in hydrocephalic animals were decreased compared to controls, and lactate was detected during the acute and chronic stages of hydrocephalus. These MR spectro scopic results are indicative of a compromised energy metabolism and s uggest the occurrence of cerebral ischemia in experimental hydrocephal us.