Association between enlarged perivascular spaces in basal ganglia and cerebral perfusion in elderly people

Enlarged perivascular spaces in basal ganglia (BG-EPVS) are considered an imaging marker of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), but its pathogenesis and pathophysiological process remain unclear. While decreased cerebral perfusion is linked to other CSVD markers, the relationship between BG-EPVS and cerebral perfusion remains ambiguous. This study aimed to explore this association.

Elderly individuals with severe BG-EPVS (n = 77) and age/sex-matched controls (n = 89) underwent head CT perfusion imaging. The cerebral perfusion parameters including mean transit time (MTT), time to maximum (TMAX), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and cerebral blood volume (CBV) were quantitatively measured by symmetric regions of interest plotted in the basal ganglia region. Point-biserial correlation and logistics regression analysis were performed to investigate the association between BG-EPVS and cerebral perfusion.

There were no significant differences in MTT, TMAX, or CBF between BG-EPVS group and control group. CBV was significantly lower in the BG-EPVS group (p = 0.035). Point-biserial correlation analysis showed a negative correlation between BG-EPVS and CBV (r = -0.198, p = 0.011). BG-EPVS group and control group as the dependent variable, binary logistics regression analysis showed that CBV was not an independent risk factor for severe BG-EPVS (p = 0.448). All enrolled patients were divided into four groups according to the interquartile interval of CBV. The ordered logistic regression analysis showed severe BG-EPVS was an independent risk factor for decreased CBV after adjusting for confounding factors (OR = 2.142, 95%CI: 1.211-3.788, p = 0.009).

Severe BG-EPVS is an independent risk factor for decreased CBV in the elderly, however, the formation of BG-EPVS is not solely dependent on changes in CBV in this region. This finding provides information about the pathophysiological consequence caused by severe BG-EPVS.