Selective reduction of blood flow to white matter during hypercapnia corresponds with leukoaraiosis.
OBJECTIVE
Age-related white matter disease (leukoaraiosis) clusters in bands in the centrum semiovale, about the occipital and frontal horns of the lateral ventricles, in the corpus callosum, and internal capsule. Cerebrovascular anatomy suggests that some of these locations represent border zones between arterial supply territories. We hypothesized that there are zones of reduced cerebrovascular reserve (susceptible to selective reductions in blood flow, ie, steal phenomenon) in the white matter of young, healthy subjects, the physiological correlate of these anatomically defined border zones. Furthermore, we hypothesized that these zones spatially correspond with the regions where the elderly develop leukoaraiosis.


METHODS
Twenty-eight healthy volunteers underwent functional MR mapping of the cerebrovascular response to hypercapnia. We studied 18 subjects by blood oxygen level-dependent MRI and 10 subjects by arterial spin labeling MRI. We controlled both end-tidal pCO(2) and pO(2). All functional data was registered in Montreal Neurological Institute space and generated composite blood oxygen level-dependent MR and arterial spin labeling MR maps of cerebrovascular reserve. We compared these maps with frequency maps of leukoaraiosis published previously.


RESULTS
Composite maps demonstrated significant (90% CI excluding the value zero) steal phenomenon in the white matter. This steal was induced by relatively small changes in end-tidal pCO(2). It occurred precisely in those locations where elderly patients develop leukoaraiosis.


CONCLUSIONS
This steal phenomenon likely represents the physiological correlate of the previously anatomically defined internal border zones. Spatial concordance with white matter changes in the elderly raises the possibility that this steal phenomenon may have a pathogenetic role.
Mandell
Daniel M
DM
Department of Medical Imaging, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario M5T 2S8, Canada.
Han
Jay S
JS
Poublanc
Julien
J
Crawley
Adrian P
AP
Kassner
Andrea
A
Fisher
Joseph A
JA
Mikulis
David J
DJ
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000473:pathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005740:Gases; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D006935:Hypercapnia / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D049292:Leukoaraiosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis
D005740:Gases; D010100:Oxygen