Cobalamin deficiency-induced changes in magnetic resonance imaging of cerebrospinal fluid volume in the cervical tract in the rat

We wanted to verify the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities that occur in the central nervous system (CNS) of cobalamin-deficient (Cbl-D) rats. The rats were made Cbl-D by means of total gastrectomy or feeding a Cbl-D diet. MR images of the cervical tract of the vertebral canal were recorded using a vertical spectrometer, and the volume of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in this part of the vertebral canal was calculated. The findings of the present study demonstrate that: (i) there was a significant decrease in cervical tract CSF volume regardless of the way in which the vitamin deficiency was induced; (ii) this volume normalized in the totally gastrectomized rats after chronic Cbl treatment; (iii) no blood-brain or blood-CSF barrier lesions were found in Cbl-D rats, using either MRI with a paramagnetic contrast agent or calculating the albumin CSF/serum concentration quotient. Cbl deficiency decreases CSF volume in the cervical tract of the vertebral canal of the rat, without apparently impairing the blood-brain barrier.