Aging is a natural process accompanied with a progressive deterioration of cognitive functions. With an aging population, more and more elderly people are suffering from cognitive impairment. Previous studies have paid more attention to the impact of inflammation and oxidative stress on cognitive function during aging. Recently, it has been discovered that neurovascular coupling (NVC), a mechanism regulating cerebral blood flow, may play a significant role in aging-related cognitive impairment. NVC responses regulate the supply of energy substances and oxygen during brain activity, which in turn enhances cognitive function. However, as people grow older, NVC responses gradually weaken, which may be one of the mechanisms underlying aging-induced cognitive impairment. Given the important role of NVC responses in the brain, it is necessary to search for intervention methods that can improve NVC responses and promote cognitive function. Exercise is an effective means to delay aging and improve cognitive function. It also has a certain promoting effect on NVC responses. This article reviews the regulatory mechanisms of NVC responses, the relationship between NVC responses and cognitive function, and explores the effects of aging and exercise intervention on NVC responses, hoping to provide new research ideas for exercise intervention to improve NVC responses and promote cognitive function in the elderly.
Humans ; Aged ; Neurovascular Coupling/physiology* ; Aging ; Cerebrovascular Circulation/physiology* ; Cognition ; Brain

OBJECTIVES: To investigate local cerebral blood perfusion in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) based on cerebral blood flow (CBF) values of arterial spin labeling (ASL). METHODS: A prospective study was conducted on 90 preterm infants with a gestational age of <32 weeks and a birth weight of <1 500 g who were born in the Department of Obstetrics and admitted to the Department of Neonatology in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from August 2021 to June 2022. All of the infants underwent cranial MRI and ASL at the corrected gestational age of 35-40 weeks. According to the presence or absence of BPD, they were divided into a BPD group with 45 infants and a non-BPD group with 45 infants. The two groups were compared in terms of the CBF values of the same regions of interest (frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, thalamus, and basal ganglia) on ASL image. RESULTS: Compared with the non-BPD group, the BPD group had a significantly lower 1-minute Apgar score, a significantly longer duration of assisted ventilation, and a significantly higher incidence rate of fetal distress (P<0.05). After control for the confounding factors such as corrected age and age at the time of cranial MRI by multiple linear regression analysis, compared with the non-BPD group, the BPD group still had higher CBF values of the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, basal ganglia, and thalamus at both sides (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS BPD can increase cerebral blood perfusion in preterm infants, which might be associated with hypoxia and a long duration of assisted ventilation in the early stage.
Infant ; Pregnancy ; Female ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Infant, Premature ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology* ; Prospective Studies ; Gestational Age ; Cerebrovascular Circulation

By using Doppler sensor and pressure sensor, the cerebrovascular stroke detector can be used to measure the blood flow velocity and blood pressure of the carotid artery. In this study, a variety of signal conversion and isolation processing techniques are proposed for processing and feature extraction of the output signals from the sensors. Finally, effective signal output waveforms that can be used to evaluate the cerebrovascular hemodynamics index (CVHI) are obtained, and the sound signal outputs that can reflect the change characteristics of blood flow velocity and blood pressure signals are generated, which realizes the application functional requirements of the detector.
Blood Flow Velocity/physiology* ; Cerebrovascular Circulation/physiology* ; Hemodynamics/physiology* ; Humans ; Stroke ; Technology

BACKGROUND: Insufficient cerebral perfusion is suggested to play a role in the development of Alzheimer disease (AD). However, there is a lack of direct evidence indicating whether hypoperfusion causes or aggravates AD pathology. We investigated the effect of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion on AD-related pathology in humans. METHODS: We enrolled a group of cognitively normal patients (median age: 64 years) with unilateral chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Regions of interest with the most pronounced hypoperfusion changes were chosen in the hypoperfused region and were then mirrored in the contralateral hemisphere to create a control region with normal perfusion. 11C-Pittsburgh compound-positron emission tomography standard uptake ratios and brain atrophy indices were calculated from the computed tomography images of each patient. RESULTS: The median age of the 10 participants, consisting of 4 males and 6 females, was 64 years (47-76 years). We found that there were no differences in standard uptake ratios of the cortex (volume of interest [VOI]: P = 0.721, region of interest [ROI]: P = 0.241) and grey/white ratio (VOI: P = 0.333, ROI: P = 0.445) and brain atrophy indices (Bicaudate, Bifrontal, Evans, Cella, Cella media, and Ventricular index, P > 0.05) between the hypoperfused regions and contralateral normally perfused regions in patients with unilateral chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that chronic hypoperfusion due to large vessel stenosis may not directly induce cerebral β-amyloid deposition and neurodegeneration in humans.
Aged ; Alzheimer Disease/pathology* ; Amyloid beta-Peptides/metabolism* ; Arteries ; Atrophy ; Brain/metabolism* ; Cerebral Cortex/metabolism* ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Constriction, Pathologic/pathology* ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Positron-Emission Tomography/methods*

OBJECTIVES: The patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) accounts for more than 80% of the patients with brain injury. Most patients with mTBI have no abnormalities in CT examination. Therefore, most patients choose to self-care and recover rather than seeking medical treatment. In fact, mTBI may result in persistent cognitive decline and neurobehavioral dysfunction. In addition, changes occurred in neurochemistry, metabolism, and cells after injury may cause changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF), which is one of the causes of secondary injury and slow brain repair. This study aims to evaluate the changes of CBF with the progression of the disease in patients with mTBI based on arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging technology. METHODS: In the outpatient or emergency department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 43 mTBI patients were collected as an mTBI group, and 43 normal subjects with age, gender, and education level matching served as a control group. They all received clinical neuropsychology and cognitive function evaluation and magnetic resonance imaging. In the mTBI group, 22 subjects were followed up at acute phase, 1 month, 3 months, and 12 months. Based on the control group, the abnormal regions of CBF in the whole brain of mTBI patients were analyzed. The abnormal regions were taken as the regions of interest (ROI). The correlation of the values of the CBF in ROIs with clinical indications, cognitive function, and the changes of CBF in ROI at each time point during the follow-up were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the CBF in the bilateral dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus and auxiliary motor areas in the cortical region, as well as the right putamen, caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, and parahippocampus in the subcutaneous regions in the acute phase of the mTBI group were significantly increased (all P<0.01, TFCE-FWE correction). The analysis results of correlation of CBF with neuropsychology and cognitive domain showed that in the mTBI group, whole brain (r=0.528, P<0.001), right caudate nucleus (r=0.512, P<0.001), putamen (r=0.486, P<0.001), and globus pallidus (r=0.426, P=0.006) values of the were positively correlated with Backward Digit Span Test (BDST) score (reflectting working memory ability), and the right globus pallidus CBF was negatively correlated with the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Cheeklist-CivilianVersion (PCL-C) score (r=-0.402, P=0.010). Moreover, the follow-up study showed that abnormal CBF in these areas had not been restored. The correlation of CBF was negatively correlated with PCL-C and BDST at 1 months, 3 months, and 12 months (all P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS The elevated CBF value is one of the stress characteristics of brain injury in the mTBI patients at the acute phase. There is abnormal elevation of CBF values in multiple cortex or subcortical areas. Multi-time point studies show that there is no obvious change of CBF in abnormal areas, suggesting that potential clinical treatment is urgently needed for the mTBI patients.
Brain Concussion/diagnostic imaging* ; Brain Injuries ; Cerebrovascular Circulation/physiology* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Spin Labels

OBJECTIVE: To present a nonlocal low-rank and sparse matrix decomposition (NLSMD) method for low-dose cerebral perfusion CT image restoration. METHODS: Low-dose cerebral perfusion CT images were first partitioned into a matrix, and the low- rank and sparse matrix decomposition model was constructed to obtain high-quality low-dose cerebral perfusion CT images. The cerebral hemodynamic parameters were calculated from the restored high-quality CT images. RESULTS: In the phantom study, the average structured similarity (SSIM) value of the sequential images obtained by filtered back-projection (FBP) algorithm was 0.9438, which was increased to 0.9765 using the proposed algorithm; the SSIM values of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral blood volume (CBV) map obtained by FBP algorithm were 0.7005 and 0.6856, respectively, which were increased using the proposed algorithm to 0.7871 and 0.7972, respectively. CONCLUSION The proposed method can effectively suppress noises in low-dose cerebral perfusion CT images to obtain accurate cerebral hemodynamic parameters.
Algorithms ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Phantoms, Imaging ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical curative effect on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and explore the relevant mechanism of acupuncture in treatment. METHODS: A total of 100 ADHD children were randomized into an observation group (50 cases, 2 cases dropped off) and a control group (50 cases, 1 case dropped off). In the control group, the routine psychological intervention was used. In the observation group, on the base of the treatment as the control group, acupuncture was applied to Taichong (LR 3), Neiguan (PC 6), Shenmen (HT 7), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Baihui (GV 20), Sishencong (EX-HN 1), etc., once daily, for 3 months. The Cambridge neuropsychological tests automated battery (CANTAB) was adopted to evaluate attention and response inhibition in two groups before and after treatment. Digi-Lite color transcranial Doppler was used to measure cerebral arterial blood velocity. The therapeutic effect was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Regarding evaluation of attention, the mean delay time in the observation group after treatment was shorter than that before treatment and that in the control group separately ( CONCLUSION Acupuncture combined with psychological intervention may improve attention and response inhibition in ADHD children, which is possibly related to the regulation of cerebral blood flow.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/therapy* ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Child ; Humans ; Psychosocial Intervention

To investigate cerebral autoregulation(CA)in patients with severe unilateral carotid artery stenosis by near infrared spectroscopy. Thirty patients who underwent general anesthesia in our hospital from January 2015 to February 2017 were enrolled in this study.The stenosis group included 15 patients with severe unilateral internal carotid artery stenosis,and the control group included 15 patients without carotid artery stenosis.Both groups were matched in sex and age.Cerebral tissue oxygenation index(TOI)and mean arterial pressure were recorded continuously under stable general anesthesia.The Pearson correlation coefficient()was calculated to judge the CA status. TOI was not significantly different between the stenosis side and the non-stenosis side in the stenosis group(66.52±6.50 65.23±4.50;=0.93, =0.368)or between the stenosis side in the stenosis group and the stenosis side in the control group(66.52±6.50 64.22±3.87;=1.18, =0.248).The values of stenosis side and non-stenosis side in the stenosis group were 0.36±0.12 and 0.17±0.11,respectively,and the values of the stenosis side in the stenosis group and the stenosis side of the control group were 0.36±0.12 and 0.13±0.08,respectively.In the stenosis group,5 patients had transient ischemic attack and 2 patients had a history of stroke within 3 months before operation.When an value of 0.342 was used as the judgment point of CA abnormality,the sensitivity and specificity were 0.625 and 0.909,respectively. Within the range of normal blood pressure fluctuation,cerebral blood flow is linked to blood pressure at the stenosis side in patients with severe unilateral carotid artery stenosis.
Blood Pressure ; Carotid Stenosis ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Ischemic Attack, Transient

Animals ; Brain Edema ; Brain Ischemia ; Cerebral Infarction ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Rats ; Reperfusion ; Reperfusion Injury

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and collateral circulation in patients with acute cerebral infarction (AIS) after thrombolytic therapy. METHODS: This retrospective, observational cohort study was conducted among 65 patients with AIS receiving thrombolytic therapy, who were divided according to findings by computed tomographic angiography (CTA) into good collateral circulation (group A, = 34) and poor collateral circulation (group B, = 31). Serum samples were collected from all the patients and the levels of TLR4 were measured with ELISA. RESULTS: The patients in group A had significantly better outcomes than those in group B. The NIHSS scores at 24 h and 30 days after thrombolytic therapy, mRS scores at 90 days and serum TLR4 levels were significantly lower in group A than in group B ( < 0.05); the percentages of patients with symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage were comparable between the two groups. The serum levels of TLR4 were negatively correlated with the rMLC score ( < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that a high level of TLR4 was associated with a poor collateral circulation after thrombolysis. CONCLUSIONS Good collateral circulation can increase the benefit of intravenous thrombolysis in patients with ACI, and the level of TLR4 is a predictive factor for the compensation of collateral circulation following ACI.
Biomarkers ; Brain Ischemia ; Cerebral Infarction ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Cohort Studies ; Collateral Circulation ; Fibrinolytic Agents ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Stroke ; metabolism ; therapy ; Thrombolytic Therapy ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; metabolism ; Treatment Outcome