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Brain Water Content: a Misunderstood Measurement?

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Abstract

Brain edema is a major contributor to poor outcome following ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. In animal models, edema has historically been quantified as a change in brain water content expressed as a percentage of wet weight (% water content). As described in this communication, this number can be misleading, as “small” changes in percentage of brain water content actually reflect much bigger changes in brain swelling. Using either water content, expressed as grams per gram of dry weight, or a measure of brain swelling better reflect the impact of edema after stroke and brain injury.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health grants NS034709 (RFK), NS039866 (GX), and NS057539 (YH) and a grant from the American Heart Association, 0840016N. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or the AHA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Richard F. Keep, Ya Hua & Guohua Xi

  2. R5018, BSRB, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2200, USA

    Richard F. Keep

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  1. Richard F. Keep
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  2. Ya Hua
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  3. Guohua Xi
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Correspondence to Richard F. Keep.

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Keep, R.F., Hua, Y. & Xi, G. Brain Water Content: a Misunderstood Measurement?. Transl. Stroke Res. 3, 263–265 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12975-012-0152-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12975-012-0152-2

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