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Alzheimer's Research & Therapy
Published in: Alzheimer's Research & Therapy 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research

Elevated cerebrovascular resistance index is associated with cognitive dysfunction in the very-old

Authors: Lindsay R Clark, Daniel A Nation, Christina E Wierenga, Katherine J Bangen, Sheena I Dev, David D Shin, Lisa Delano-Wood, Thomas T Liu, Robert A Rissman, Mark W Bondi

Published in: Alzheimer's Research & Therapy | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Introduction

Age-related vascular changes, including blood pressure elevation and cerebral blood flow (CBF) reduction, are associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Evidence suggests that the relationship between blood pressure and dementia risk varies between younger and older samples within the elderly population.

Methods

We examined the relationship between mean arterial pressure (MAP), CBF, and cognition in young-old (60 to 75 years of age) versus very-old (80+ years of age) adults. Fifty-eight non-demented older adults completed an arterial spin labeling MRI scan, and an index of cerebrovascular resistance (CVRi) was estimated for each participant by calculating the ratio of MAP and CBF.

Results

Results demonstrated a similar negative relationship between MAP and CBF across both age groups. However, very-old participants exhibited elevated CVRi and reduced CBF compared to young-old participants in regions implicated in AD and cerebral small vessel disease. Furthermore, significant age by CVRi interactions revealed that elevated CVRi in the thalamus was inversely related to verbal fluency performance in the very-old group.

Conclusions

Findings support CVRi as a potential vascular biomarker and suggest that regionally-specific vascular changes may contribute to cognitive decline, particularly in the very-old.
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Metadata
Title
Elevated cerebrovascular resistance index is associated with cognitive dysfunction in the very-old
Authors
Lindsay R Clark
Daniel A Nation
Christina E Wierenga
Katherine J Bangen
Sheena I Dev
David D Shin
Lisa Delano-Wood
Thomas T Liu
Robert A Rissman
Mark W Bondi
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Alzheimer's Research & Therapy / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1758-9193
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-014-0080-3

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