The cerebral circulation during pregnancy: adapting to preserve normalcy.
The adaptation of the brain and cerebral circulation to pregnancy are unique compared with other organs and circulatory systems, ultimately functioning to maintain brain homeostasis. In this review, the effect of pregnancy on critical functions of the cerebral circulation is discussed, including changes occurring at the endothelium and blood-brain barrier, and changes in the structure and function of cerebral arteries and arterioles, hemodynamics, and cerebral blood flow autoregulation.
Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
Abbie C
AC
Johnson
Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont Marilyn.Cipolla@uvm.edu.
Marilyn J
MJ
Cipolla
D000818:Animals; D001160:Arterioles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply*; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D015398:Signal Transduction