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Cerebral angiography, blood flow and vascular reactivity in progressive hypertension

Yunxia Li1, Qiang Shen2, Shiliang Huang2

  • 1Department of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, China; Research Imaging Institute, Department of Ophthalmology and Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States.

Neuroimage
|March 4, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Chronic hypertension progressively damages cerebral arteries, reducing blood flow and impairing brain

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cardiovascular Science
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Chronic hypertension is known to affect cerebral vascular morphology, cerebral blood flow (CBF), and cerebrovascular reactivity.
  • These changes increase susceptibility to neurological disorders, but the precise progression and compensatory mechanisms are not fully understood.
  • Understanding these alterations is crucial for managing hypertension-related neurological complications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate changes in cerebral artery lumen diameter, basal CBF, and cerebrovascular reactivity to hypercapnia in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) at different ages.
  • To compare these parameters with age-matched normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats.
  • To investigate the relationship between arterial stenosis and compromised cerebrovascular reserve.

Main Methods:

  • Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was used to measure lumen diameters of major cerebral and downstream arteries.
  • Arterial-spin-labeling (ASL) MRI technique was employed to assess basal CBF and hypercapnic CBF response in multiple brain regions.
  • Studies were conducted on SHR and WKY rats at 10, 20, and 40 weeks of age.

Main Results:

  • In 10-week SHR, reduced lumen diameter and elevated basal CBF and hypercapnic CBF response were observed compared to WKY rats, without stenosis.
  • By 40 weeks, SHR showed reduced lumen diameter, decreased basal CBF, significantly reduced hypercapnic CBF response (with some negative responses indicating compromised reserve), and arterial stenosis.
  • Compensatory responses included enlargement of downstream vessels and formation of collateral vessels; middle cerebral and azygos arteries were most affected.

Conclusions:

  • Hypertension progressively alters cerebral vasculature, leading to stenosis and reduced cerebrovascular reserve over time.
  • Multimodal MRI offers valuable data for characterizing hypertension's impact on the brain, staging disease progression, and monitoring therapeutic interventions.
  • The findings highlight the critical role of cerebral vascular health in preventing hypertension-related neurological damage.

Keywords:
CBFCerebral vascular resistanceCerebrovascular reserveHypercapniaMRAMRISpontaneous hypertensive ratWistar Kyoto rats

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