Advances in brain MRI for CAD-associated cognitive impairment with supplementary perspectives from traditional...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Integrative Medicine

Background:

• Coronary artery disease (CAD) and cognitive impairment (CI) represent significant public health concerns.
• The heart-brain axis theory posits a strong correlation between cardiovascular health and cognitive function.
• Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of CAD-related CI is crucial for effective intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for assessing CAD-related cognitive impairment.
• To explore the potential of multimodal brain MRI as a biomarker for the heart-brain axis.
• To investigate the convergence of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles with neuroimaging for CAD-related CI.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of recent research on brain MRI in CAD.
• Analysis of pathological mechanisms linking CAD to brain damage (e.g., hypoperfusion, neuroinflammation).
• Exploration of advanced imaging techniques like graph-theoretic analysis and artificial intelligence.

Main Results:

• CAD negatively impacts white matter microstructure, functional connectivity, and gray matter volume.
• Multimodal brain MRI shows promise in evaluating heart-brain axis integrity.
• Graph-theoretic analysis and AI can identify biomarkers linking brain network abnormalities to cardiovascular risk in CAD patients.

Conclusions:

• Brain MRI provides objective tools to validate TCM heart-brain theory in CAD-related CI.
• Neuroimaging can bridge TCM's holistic approach with Western medicine.
• A novel imaging framework can guide integrated strategies for synergistic heart and brain treatment.