Cerebrovascular CO reactivity and dynamic cerebral autoregulation through the eighth decade of life and their implications for cognitive decline.

J Cereb Blood Flow Metab

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Radboudumc Alzheimer Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Published: May 2024

Aging is accompanied by a decrease in cerebral blood flow (CBF), especially in the presence of preclinical cognitive decline. The role of cerebrovascular physiology including regulatory mechanisms of CBF in processes underlying aging and subclinical cognitive decline is, however, not fully understood. We explored changes in cerebrovascular CO reactivity and dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) through the eighth decade of life, and their relation with early cognitive decline. After 10.9 years, twenty-eight (age, 80.0 ± 3.5 years; 46% female) out of forty-eight healthy older adults who had participated in a previous study (age at baseline, 70 ± 4 years; 42% female), underwent repeated transcranial Doppler assessments. Linear mixed-model analyses revealed small reductions in cerebrovascular CO reactivity with aging (-0.37%/mmHg, P = 0.041), whereas dCA was modestly enhanced (gain: -0.009 cm/s/mmHg, P = 0.038; phase: +8.9 degrees, P = 0.004). These changes were more pronounced in participants who had developed subjective memory complaints at follow-up. Our observations confirm that dCA is not impaired in aging, despite lower cerebral perfusion and cerebrovascular reactivity. Altogether, this unique longitudinal study highlights the involvement of cerebrovascular health in preclinical cognitive decline, which is of clinical relevance in the development of dementia management strategies.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11197147PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0271678X231219568DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

cognitive decline
20
cerebrovascular reactivity
16
reactivity dynamic
8
dynamic cerebral
8
cerebral autoregulation
8
eighth decade
8
decade life
8
preclinical cognitive
8
cerebrovascular
6
cognitive
5

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!