Measurement of Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability in Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

The concept of a barrier between the blood and the brain first arose in the late nineteenth century, when German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich, discovered that aniline dyes injected intravenously into small animals stained all their organs except for the brain. The concept was developed further by his student, Goldman, who in 1905 demonstrated that tryptan blue injected intrathecally, but not intravenously, resulted in the staining of brain tissue. In the intervening century, histopathological and radiological investigations have helped shape our understanding of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in health and in disease. In particular, the involvement of the BBB in neuroinflammation and how its disruption contributes to pathology is the subject of considerable study. This chapter will describe some of the principles and methods employed in the ongoing research making use of gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate BBB disruption in multiple sclerosis (MS).