Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 19, 2025
Bilateral Common Carotid Artery Occlusion as an Adequate Preconditioning Stimulus to Induce Early Ischemic Tolerance to Focal Cerebral Ischemia
Published on: May 9, 2013
Carotid Arterial Compliance and Aerobic Exercise Training in Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury: A Pilot Study
Tsubasa Tomoto1, Tran Le, Takashi Tarumi
1Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Dallas (Drs Tomoto, Tarumi, and Zhang); Departments of Neurology (Drs Tomoto, Le, Tarumi, Dieppa, Zhang, and Ding), Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Dr Bell), Neurological Surgery (Dr Madden), and Internal Medicine (Dr Zhang), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; and Human Informatics Interaction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan (Dr Tarumi).
Objective:
Decreased carotid arterial compliance (CAC) is associated with cerebral microvascular damage, cerebral blood flow (CBF) dysregulation, and increased risk for stroke and dementia, which are reported to be prevalent after traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the effect of TBI on CAC has not been reported. The purposes of this pilot study were to (1) compare CAC between participants with chronic traumatic brain injury (cTBI) and age-matched healthy control (HC) subjects and (2) to examine whether CAC changed after 3 months of exercise training in those with cTBI.
Setting:
Community based.
Participants:
Nineteen participants with cTBI (6-72 months postinjury) and 19 HC matched for age and sex were tested at baseline. The same cTBI cohort was enrolled in a proof-of-concept randomized controlled exercise training program to investigate the effects of 3 months of aerobic exercise training (AET) or nonaerobic stretching and toning (SAT) on cerebrovascular parameters.
Design:
Cross-sectional study and randomized controlled trial.
Main Measures:
CAC was measured by tonometry and ultrasonography at the common carotid artery; CBF was measured by ultrasonography at the bilateral internal carotid and vertebral arteries, and pulsatile CBF was measured by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography at the middle cerebral arteries. Cerebrovascular resistance (CVR) was calculated as mean arterial pressure divided by total CBF.
Results:
Relative to HC, the participants with cTBI had lower CAC (0.10 ± 0.03 vs 0.12 ± 0.03 mm 2 /mm Hg, P = .046) and higher CVR (0.17 ± 0.03 vs 0.15 ± 0.03 mm Hg/mL/min, P = .028). CAC tended to increase after AET compared with SAT ( P = .080). Increases in CAC were associated with decreased pulsatile CBF ( r = -0.689, P = .003).
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that the individuals with cTBI have decreased CAC, which may potentially be improved by AET.
More Related Videos
04:20Integration of Brain Tissue Saturation Monitoring in Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in Patients with Heart Failure
Published on: October 1, 2019
08:36Development of an Uncomplicated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Model Modified by Weight-Drop Method and Evidenced by Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: April 11, 2025