Open AccessThe Influence of Body Position on Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure Gradient and Movement in Cats with Normal and Impaired Craniospinal Communication
Author(s) -
Marijan Klarica,
Marko Radoš,
Gorislav Erceg,
Antonio Petošić,
Ivana Jurjević,
Darko Orešković
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0095229
Subject(s) - cerebrospinal fluid , cats , intracranial pressure , body position , cerebrospinal fluid pressure , cerebral spinal fluid , medicine , fluid pressure , extracellular fluid , pathophysiology , anatomy , position (finance) , neuroscience , biology , anesthesia , pathology , mechanics , physics , extracellular , physical medicine and rehabilitation , finance , economics , microbiology and biotechnology
Intracranial hypertension is a severe therapeutic problem, as there is insufficient knowledge about the physiology of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure. In this paper a new CSF pressure regulation hypothesis is proposed. According to this hypothesis, the CSF pressure depends on the laws of fluid mechanics and on the anatomical characteristics inside the cranial and spinal space, and not, as is today generally believed, on CSF secretion, circulation and absorption. The volume and pressure changes in the newly developed CSF model, which by its anatomical dimensions and basic biophysical features imitates the craniospinal system in cats, are compared to those obtained on cats with and without the blockade of craniospinal communication in different body positions. During verticalization, a long-lasting occurrence of negative CSF pressure inside the cranium in animals with normal cranio-spinal communication was observed. CSF pressure gradients change depending on the body position, but those gradients do not enable unidirectional CSF circulation from the hypothetical site of secretion to the site of absorption in any of them. Thus, our results indicate the existence of new physiological/pathophysiological correlations between intracranial fluids, which opens up the possibility of new therapeutic approaches to intracranial hypertension.