Positron emission tomography: an animal model of spinal distribution of drugs after intrathecal administration.

An animal model has been developed in the Rhesus monkey for noninvasive monitoring of CSF transport of drugs by external detectors i.e. positron emission tomography. The model compromises the cannulation of the subarachnoid space (with a spinal needle), and has been used without any damage to the monkey. With the method it was shown that injection rate had a major influence on the transport rate of 68GaCl3 in the CSF. Injection of 0.5 ml over 60 sec gave the highest radioactivity near the injection site, whereas an injection rate of this volume over 10 sec resulted in high radioactivity more rostrally shortly after injection. This method have been of value for the determination of drug kinetics after spinal administration.