The Use of Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Evaluation of Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption in Traumatic Brain Injury: What Is the Evidence?

(1) Background: Blood brain barrier (BBB) disruption following traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in a secondary injury by facilitating the entry of neurotoxins to the brain parenchyma without filtration. In the current paper, we aimed to review previous dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) studies to evaluate the occurrence of BBB disruption after TBI. (2) Methods: In electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and the Cochrane Library), we searched for the following keywords: dynamic contrast-enhanced OR DCE AND brain injury. We included studies in which BBB disruption was evaluated in patients with TBI using DCE-MRI. (3) Results: Four articles were included in this review. To assess BBB disruption, linear fit, Tofts, extended Tofts, or Patlak models were used. [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were increased, and the values of [Formula: see text] were decreased in the cerebral cortex and predilection sites for diffusion axonal injury. These findings are indicative of BBB disruption following TBI. (4) Conclusions: Our analysis supports the possibility of utilizing DCE-MRI for the detection of BBB disruption following TBI.