Choroid plexus volume after stroke

Abstract

Background Cerebrospinal fluid circulation is crucial for the functioning of the brain. Aging and brain pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease have been associated with a change in the morphology of the ventricles and the choroid plexus. Despite the evidence from animal models that the cerebrospinal fluid system plays an important role in neuroinflammation and the restoration of the brain after ischemic brain injury, little is known about changes to the choroid plexus after stroke in humans. Aims Our goal was to characterize structural choroid plexus changes poststroke. Methods We used an automatic segmentation tool to estimate the volumes of choroid plexus and lateral ventricles in stroke and control participants at three time points (at baseline, 3 and 12 months) over the first year after stroke. We assessed group differences cross-sectionally at each time point and longitudinally. For stroke participants, we specifically differentiated between ipsi- and contra-lesional volumes. Statistical analyses were conducted for each region separately and included covariates such as age, sex, total intracranial volume, and years of education. Results We observed significantly larger choroid plexus volumes in stroke participants compared to controls in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Choroid plexus volumes did not exhibit any change over the first year after stroke, with no difference between ipsi- and contra-lesional volumes. This was in contrast to the volume of lateral ventricles that we found to enlarge over time in all participants, with more accelerated expansion in stroke survivors ipsi-lesionally. Conclusions Our results suggest that chronic stages of stroke are characterized by larger choroid plexus volumes, but the enlargement likely takes place prior to or very early after the stroke incident.