Successful and safe perfusion of the primate brainstem: in vivo magnetic resonance imaging of macromolecular distribution during infusion.

Object: Intrinsic disease processes of the brainstem (gliomas, neurodegenerative disease, and others) have remained difficult or impossible to treat effectively because of limited drug penetration across the blood-brainstem barrier with conventional delivery methods. The authors used convection-enhanced delivery (CED) of a macromolecular tracer visible on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to examine the utility of CED for safe perfusion of the brainstem.

Methods: Three primates (Macaca mulatta) underwent CED of various volumes of infusion ([Vis]; 85, 110, and 120 microl) of Gd-bound albumin (72 kD) in the pontine region of the brainstem during serial MR imaging.