AUTHOR=Liu Sirui , Hou Bo , You Hui , Zhang Yiwei , Zhu Yicheng , Ma Chao , Zuo Zhentao , Feng Feng
TITLE=The Association Between Perivascular Spaces and Cerebral Blood Flow, Brain Volume, and Cardiovascular Risk
JOURNAL=Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
VOLUME=13
YEAR=2021
URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2021.599724
DOI=10.3389/fnagi.2021.599724
ISSN=1663-4365
ABSTRACT=Background: Basal ganglia perivascular spaces are associated with cognitive decline and cardiovascular risk factors. There is a lack of studies on the cardiovascular risk burden of basal ganglia perivascular spaces (BG-PVS) and their relationship with gray matter volume (GMV) and GM cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the aging brain. Here, we investigated these two issues in a large sample of cognitively intact older adults.
Methods: A total of 734 volunteers were recruited. MRI was performed with 3.0 T using a pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) sequence and a sagittal isotropic T1-weighted sequence for CBF and GMV analysis. The images obtained from 406 participants were analyzed to investigate the relationship between the severity of BG-PVS and GMV/CBF. False discovery rate-corrected P-values (PFDR) of <0.05 were considered significant. The images obtained from 254 participants were used to study the relationship between the severity of BG-PVS and cardiovascular risk burden. BG-PVS were rated using a 5-grade score. The severity of BG-PVS was classified as mild (grade <3) and severe (grade ≥3). Cardiovascular risk burden was assessed with the Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Score (FGCRS).
Results: Severe basal ganglia perivascular spaces were associated with significantly smaller GMV and CBF in multiple cortical regions (PFDR <0.05), and were associated with significantly larger volume in the bilateral caudate nucleus, pallidum, and putamen (PFDR <0.05). The participants with severe BG-PVS were more likely to have a higher cardiovascular risk burden than the participants with mild BG-PVS (60.71% vs. 42.93%; P =0.02).
Conclusion: In cognitively intact older adults, severe BG-PVS are associated with smaller cortical GMV and CBF, larger subcortical GMV, and higher cardiovascular risk burden.