ArticleNature communications2026
Photoacoustic computed tomography monitors cerebrospinal fluid dynamics and glymphatic function.
Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Volumetric photoacoustic imaging of elastin and age-related remodeling using near-infrared probe ElaNIR.Photoacoustics · 2026Article
- Quantitative assessment of gastrointestinal motility in neonatal rats by real-time 3D photoacoustic imaging: A feasibility study.Photoacoustics · 2026Article
- Deep Learning for scaling large-aperture photoacoustic computed tomography : From single fingers to the human hand.Ultrasonics · 2026Article
- Multiscale photoacoustic imaging of stroke in preclinical models and future directions toward clinical translation [Invited].Biomedical optics express · 2026Review
- Fully integrated photoacoustic microscopy for multi-scale and longitudinal imaging in translational biomedical applications.Biomedical optics express · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) continuously circulates through the brain and surrounding tissues to remove metabolic waste, a process that becomes less efficient with ageing and in neurodegenerative disease. Visualizing this drainage in living animals has been difficult because existing imaging tools either lack depth, require radioactive tracers, or are too slow to capture dynamic flow. Here, we show that whole-body photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) enables three-dimensional, real-time tracking of CSF transport in mice using indocyanine green. We visualize CSF movement from the spinal canal into the brain, quantify its efflux under different anesthesia conditions, and detect impaired clearance in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Compared with healthy animals, diseased mice retain the tracer in the brain for several days, indicating reduced waste removal. These results establish PACT as a non-invasive platform for measuring CSF and glymphatic function in vivo, providing a way to study how brain fluid transport is altered in ageing and neurological disorders.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.