title: Arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance perfusion study to evaluate the effects of age and gender on normal cerebral blood flow.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a noninvasive magnetic resonance (MR) perfusion technique to detect changes in blood flow. This study was undertaken to obtain a reference set of normal values of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in different age groups using three-dimensional pseudocontinuous ASL (3D PCASL) technique. The existence of an age-related decline in the gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) CBF was evaluated. The gender-related CBF was also analyzed.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and sixty normal volunteers of varying age (6-72 years), arranged in 4 age groups, underwent MR perfusion imaging using 3D PCASL technique at 3 Tesla (T). Mean CBF values in global and regional GM and WM in different age groups were extracted from the quantitative perfusion map.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant negative correlation was observed between the age and mean GM and WM CBF values (r = -0.80, P = 0.001; r = -0.59, P = 0.001, respectively). Similar results were also observed between age and various regional mean GM and WM CBF values (P = 0.001). No significant effect of gender on the GM CBF and WM CBF was found in any age group (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PCASL technique provides reliable quantitative parameters for the precise mapping of age-related perfusion changes occurring in the normal brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Neetu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Soni
authors.forename: Anshul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Chandra M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Awasthi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D013113:Spin Labels; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013113:Spin Labels