Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6875
Title: A lumped-parameter model of the cerebrospinal system for simulating syringomyelia
Authors: Elliott, NSJ
Lockerby, DA
Brodbelt, AR
2nd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2009)
Keywords: Cerebrospinal fluid;Perivascular flow;Spinal disease
Issue Date: 2009
Publisher: Brunel University
Citation: 2nd Micro and Nano Flows Conference, Brunel University, West London, UK, 01-02 September 2009
Abstract: Syringomyelia is a disease in which high-pressure fluid-filled cavities, called syrinxes, form in the spinal cord (SC) which can cause progressive loss of sensory and motor functions. Poor treatment outcomes have led to myriad hypotheses for its pathogenesis, which unfortunately are often based on small numbers of patients due to the relative rarity of the disease. However, accumulating evidence in the last decade from animal studies implicates arterial pulsations in syrinx formation. In particular, it has been suggested that a phase difference between the pressure pulse in the spinal subarachnoid space and the perivascular spaces, due to a pathologically disturbed blood supply, could result in a net influx of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) into the SC. A lumped-parameter model is developed of the cerebrospinal system to investigate this conjecture. It is found that although this phase-lag mechanism may operate, it requires the SC to have an intrinsic storage capacity due to the collapsibility of the contained venous reservoir. If this storage requirement is met then the results presented here suggest that, on mechanical grounds, a syringo-subarachnoid shunt may be a better surgical treatment option than a subarachnoid bypass for posttraumatic syringomyelia.
Description: This paper was presented at the 2nd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2009), which was held at Brunel University, West London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IPEM, the Italian Union of Thermofluid dynamics, the Process Intensification Network, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.
URI: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6875
ISBN: 978-1-902316-72-7
978-1-902316-73-4
Appears in Collections:Brunel Institute for Bioengineering (BIB)
The Brunel Collection

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