A neuropathologic study of the ependymoventricular surface in diver brains

Interference with the dynamics of cerebrospinal fluid may lead to loss of ependymal lining in the ventricles of the brain. The ependymal loss of the lateral ventricles under the corpus callosum at the level of the commisura anterior was measured in 21 diver brains and in a control material of 15 neurologic and non-neurologic brains. The divers were sport divers and professional divers with and without saturation exposure. The different groups were compared with respect to the mean loss of ependymal cells (in percentage). A statistically significant higher loss of ependyma was found in the total number of divers than in the controls. There was no significant difference between the group of sport divers and the control group. The largest loss of ependymal cells was found in the professional divers without saturation experience. Statistically, this loss was significantly larger than the loss of ependymal cells in the controls.