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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Assessing Cerebral Autoregulation via Oscillatory Lower Body Negative Pressure and Projection Pursuit Regression
Published on: December 10, 2014
Impact of vertebral artery disease on dynamic cerebral autoregulation
C Haubrich1, A Kohnke, R R Diehl
1Department of Neurology, University Hospital Aachen, Germany.
Objectives:
This study applied dynamic cerebral autoregulation (DCA) testing distally to severe bilateral vertebral artery disease (BVAD).
Methods:
Using continuous monitoring of beat-to-beat blood pressure and transcranial Doppler of the posterior cerebral arteries (PCA) were examined in 20 patients with BVAD and 22 controls. DCA testing was based on the 'high-pass filter model', which predicts a positive phase relationship between spontaneous oscillations (M-waves 3-9 cpm and R-waves 9-20 cpm) in blood pressure and cerebral blood flow velocity.
Results:
In patients with BVAD, DCA testing detected autoregulatory deficits of different degrees. The lowest M-wave phase shift angles were found in the PCA territory distally to intracranial BVAD.
Conclusion:
This study suggests that DCA testing of the PCA could help to quantify the hemodynamic impact of BVAD. It highlights the relevance of functional TCD sonography as a useful diagnostic tool for the hemodynamic evaluation of vertebrobasilar disease.
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