Contrast media leakage to the cerebrospinal fluid after intravenous injection. Comparison of stroke patients and controls.

We have tested a method to evaluate leakage of i.v. injected contrast media (CM) through the 3 partitions between blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in controls and in patients with acute cerebrovascular disease (ACBVD) to detect differences between normal brains and brains with ischemic lesions. High-osmolar (HOCM) and low-osmolar (LOCM) CM were used. In 55 patients and in 41 controls who underwent CT after i.v. contrast administration, lumbar CSF was collected 1 hour after injection and the iodine content in the CSF was measured. The concentration of iodine in CSF was very low, between 0.57 and 11.20 ng/l, and no significant difference could be found between patients and controls or between HOCM and LOCM. We conclude that under the conditions mentioned above, iodine detected in the human lumbar CSF does not reflect the true leakage of contrast agent through the blood-brain barrier.