Challenging cerebral autoregulation in patients with preganglionic autonomic failure

Intact cerebral autoregulation is essential to prevent cerebral hypoperfusion during pronounced changes in arterial blood pressure (ABP) in patients with autonomic failure (AF). It is still a matter of debate whether and to what extent cerebral autoregulation is disturbed in these patients. This study evaluates the interaction between cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) and ABP during Valsalva maneuver (VM) and tilt-table testing in nine patients with multiple system atrophy including AF and in 14 age-matched controls. CBFV and ABP were recorded noninvasively using transcranial Doppler sonography and the Finapres device. Responses to VM were graded by the autoregulation slope index (ASI). Cerebrovascular resistance changes were estimated by the conventional ratio ABP/CBFV and by the dynamic pressure-velocity relationship. To challenge cerebral autoregulation further, tests were repeated under hypercapnic predilation of cerebral arterioles. During VM, CBFV reincreased in patients despite a pronounced ABP drop and showed an overshoot after the strain, thus, being similar to controls. The ASI was higher in patients than in controls ( p < 0.05). During 70 degrees head-up tilt, ABP dropped markedly, but the decrease in CBFV was small and did not differ significantly from controls. In patients, both tests were associated with a substantial decrease of the dynamic but not of the conventional pressure-velocity relationship. Under hypercapnia, the CBFV response in patients remained unchanged. We conclude that 1). cerebral arterioles have the capacity for adequate vasodilation during ABP drops in patients with AF and that this ability is still present under hypercapnic predilation. 2). The mechanism of cerebral autoregulation in itself does not seem to be affected by the AF but is rather well exercised. 3) The VM presents, in addition to tilt-table testing, a simple test for clinical evaluation of cerebral autoregulation in patients with AF.