Liquid in intracranial arachnoid cysts similar to cerebrospinal fluid

Scientists have used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry methods to further evaluate fluid in intracranial arachnoid cysts (AC).

The processes behind the formation and filling of intracranial AC are not well understood and so the study involved two goals: To compare AC fluid from a range of patients to determine if the condition is homogenous and also to contrast the fluid protein content to that of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma.

Published in Fluids and Barriers of the CNS, the team of scientists analysed the AC fluid from 15 patients with temporal AC using a semi-quantitative label-free approach to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

"Based on the protein content of AC fluid, our data indicate that temporal AC is a homogenous condition, pointing towards a similar AC filling mechanism for the 14 patients examined," the study revealed.

In addition, it found strong similarities between AC fluid and CSF, although this was not the case with plasma, indicating that AC is filled with a comparable liquid.