Magnetic resonance markers of bilateral neuronal metabolic dysfunction in patients with unilateral internal carotid artery occlusion.

Objectives: To evaluate cerebral hemodynamic, metabolic and anatomic changes occurring in patients with unilateral occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA).

Materials And Methods: Twenty-two patients with unilateral occlusion of ICA and twenty age and sex matched healthy subjects were included in the study. Single voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) of the centrum semiovale, semi-automated hippocampal volumetry in T1-weighted scans and transcranial Doppler examination (TCD) with calculation of Breath Holding Index (BHI) were performed in both groups.

Reduced Cerebrovascular Reserve Capacity as a Biomarker of Microangiopathy in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Background: Cerebral microangiopathy in Alzheimer's disease (AD) causes chronic hypoperfusion and probably accelerates neurodegenerative changes.

Objective: We hypothesize microvascular impairment could be present already in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and can be revealed using transcranial color-coded sonography (TCCS) and the breath-holding maneuver.

Methods: Three groups of subjects (AD in the stage of dementia, MCI, and cognitively normal controls) with detailed neuropsychological testing and low cerebrovascular burden (no history of stroke, no intra- or extracranial artery stenoses, and no severe vascular lesions on brain MRI), underwent a TCCS assessment of peak systolic (PSV), mean flow (MFV), and end diastolic velocities (EDV) and resistance and pulsatility indices (RI, PI) in large intracranial vessels bilaterally.

Utility of transcranial ultrasound in predicting Alzheimer's disease risk.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease characterized by an increasing incidence. One of the pathologic processes that underlie this disorder is impairment of brain microvasculature. Transcranial ultrasound is a non-invasive examination of cerebral blood flow that can be employed as a simple and useful screening tool for assessing the vascular status of brain circulation in preclinical and clinical stages of AD.

Neurosonological Examination: A Non-Invasive Approach for the Detection of Cerebrovascular Impairment in AD.

There has been a growing interest in vascular impairment associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This interest was stimulated by the findings of higher incidence of vascular risk factors in AD. Signs of vascular impairment were investigated notably in the field of imaging methods.