Title:The Updated Role of the Blood Brain Barrier in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: From Basic and Clinical Studies
Volume: 18
Issue: 12
Author(s): Sheng Chen*, PengLei Xu, YuanJian Fang and Cameron Lenahan
Affiliation:
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province,China
Keywords:
Subarachnoid hemorrhage, blood brain barrier, imaging, clinical trial, early brain injury, delayed cerebral ischemia.
Abstract: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a type of hemorrhagic stroke associated with high
mortality and morbidity. The blood-brain-barrier (BBB) is a structure consisting primarily of cerebral
microvascular endothelial cells, end feet of astrocytes, extracellular matrix, and pericytes.
Post-SAH pathophysiology included early brain injury and delayed cerebral ischemia. BBB disruption
was a critical mechanism of early brain injury and was associated with other pathophysiological
events. These pathophysiological events may propel the development of secondary brain injury,
known as delayed cerebral ischemia. Imaging advancements to measure BBB after SAH primarily
focused on exploring innovative methods to predict clinical outcome, delayed cerebral ischemia,
and delayed infarction related to delayed cerebral ischemia in acute periods. These predictions are
based on detecting abnormal changes in BBB permeability. The parameters of BBB permeability
are described by changes in computed tomography (CT) perfusion and magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI). Kep seems to be a stable and sensitive indicator in CT perfusion, whereas Ktrans is a reliable
parameter for dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. Future prediction models that utilize both the
volume of BBB disruption and stable parameters of BBB may be a promising direction to develop
practical clinical tools. These tools could provide greater accuracy in predicting clinical outcome
and risk of deterioration. Therapeutic interventional exploration targeting BBB disruption is also
promising, considering the extended duration of post-SAH BBB disruption.