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. 2013 Sep;44(9):2480-5.
doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.113.001716. Epub 2013 Jul 23.

Use of total cerebral blood flow as an imaging biomarker of known cardiovascular risks

J Richard Jennings  1 , Alicia F Heim, Dora Chieh-Hsin Kuan, Peter J Gianaros, Matthew F Muldoon, Stephen B Manuck
Affiliations

Use of total cerebral blood flow as an imaging biomarker of known cardiovascular risks

J Richard Jennings et al. Stroke. 2013 Sep.

Abstract

Background and purpose: This study examined whether overall cerebral blood flow was associated with known vascular risk factors, including cardiometabolic risk factors that comprise the metabolic syndrome, carotid artery intima-media thickness, and the Framingham risk score.

Methods: Three separate samples were available for analysis. Two comparable samples were combined to form a primary sample of middle-aged participants (n=576; 30-55 years of age) that completed both a risk factor assessment and a resting brain scan. Samples were recruited via mailings and advertisements within an urban area. Quantitative measures of cerebral blood flow were derived from arterial spin-labeled MRI in this sample and in a validation/generalization sample (n=76; 30-55 years).

Results: Cerebral blood flow was inversely associated with cardiometabolic risk indices, that is, associated with lower waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, glucose, and triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein. Moreover, cerebral blood flow was also related to Framingham risk and carotid intima-media thickness. In the validation sample, which used a slightly different brain imaging technique, significant relationships were replicated for cardiometabolic risk, but not for Framingham risk.

Conclusions: Reduced cerebral blood flow seems to be a correlate of vascular disease risk factors associated with cardiometabolic dysregulation. Cerebral blood flow may provide a valid imaging biomarker for cardiovascular risk.

Keywords: Framingham risk; biological markers; brain diseases, metabolic; carotid intima-media thickness; cerebral blood flow; magnetic resonance imaging; neuroimaging; vascular diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest. None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scatterdiagrams showing bivariate relationship between CBF and a cardiometabolic score (left) and carotid intima-media thickness (right). The product-moment correlation for the cardiometabolic score and CBF was r=−.28, p<.0001 for carotid intima-media thickness r=−.21, p<.001, n for each=576.
Figure 2
Figure 2
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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