Viscoelastic Property of the Brain Assessed With Magnetic Resonance Elastography and Its Association With Glymphatic...

To investigate the feasibility of assessing the viscoelastic properties of the brain using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and a novel MRE transducer to determine the relationship between the viscoelastic properties and glymphatic function in neurologically normal individuals.

This prospective study included 47 neurologically normal individuals aged 23-74 years (male-to-female ratio, 21:26). The MRE was acquired using a gravitational transducer based on a rotational eccentric mass as the driving system. The magnitude of the complex shear modulus |G*| and the phase angle ϕ were measured in the centrum semiovale area. To evaluate glymphatic function, the Diffusion Tensor Image Analysis Along the Perivascular Space (DTI-ALPS) method was utilized and the ALPS index was calculated. Univariable and multivariable (variables with P < 0.2 from the univariable analysis) linear regression analyses were performed for |G*| and ϕ and included sex, age, normalized white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume, brain parenchymal volume, and ALPS index as covariates.

In the univariable analysis for |G*|, age (P = 0.005), brain parenchymal volume (P = 0.152), normalized WMH volume (P = 0.011), and ALPS index (P = 0.005) were identified as candidates with P < 0.2. In the multivariable analysis, only the ALPS index was independently associated with |G*|, showing a positive relationship (β = 0.300, P = 0.029). For ϕ, normalized WMH volume (P = 0.128) and ALPS index (P = 0.015) were identified as candidates for multivariable analysis, and only the ALPS index was independently associated with ϕ (β = 0.057, P = 0.039).

Brain MRE using a gravitational transducer is feasible in neurologically normal individuals over a wide age range. The significant correlation between the viscoelastic properties of the brain and glymphatic function suggests that a more organized or preserved microenvironment of the brain parenchyma is associated with a more unimpeded glymphatic fluid flow.