Department of Neurology, Stroke Division, 45 Francis St, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2008 Apr;4(2):433-40.
Cerebral ischemia is a common, morbid condition accompanied by cognitive decline. Recent reports on the vascular health benefits of flavanol-containing foods signify a promising approach to the treatment of cerebral ischemia. Our study was designed to investigate the effects of flavanol-rich cocoa (FRC) consumption on cerebral blood flow in older healthy volunteers.
We used transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound to measure mean blood flow velocity (MFV) in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in thirty-four healthy elderly volunteers (72 +/- 6 years) in response to the regular intake of FRC or flavanol-poor cocoa (FPC).
In response to two weeks of FRC intake, MFV increased by 8% +/- 4% at one week (p = 0.01) and 10% +/- 4% (p = 0.04) at two weeks. In response to one week of cocoa, significantly more subjects in the FRC as compared with the FPC group had an increase in their MFV (p < 0.05).
In summary, we show that dietary intake of FRC is associated with a significant increase in cerebral blood flow velocity in the MCA as measured by TCD. Our data suggest a promising role for regular cocoa flavanol's consumption in the treatment of cerebrovascular ischemic syndromes, including dementias and stroke.
脑缺血是一种常见的病态，伴有认知能力下降。最近关于富含黄烷醇的食物对血管健康有益的报告表明，这是治疗脑缺血的一种很有前途的方法。我们的研究旨在探讨富含黄烷醇的可可（FRC）消费对老年健康志愿者脑血流的影响。
我们使用经颅多普勒（TCD）超声测量 34 名健康老年志愿者（72 +/- 6 岁）大脑中动脉（MCA）的平均血流速度（MFV），以响应常规摄入富含黄烷醇的可可（FRC）或黄烷醇含量低的可可（FPC）。
在两周的 FRC 摄入后，MFV 在一周时增加了 8% +/- 4%（p = 0.01），在两周时增加了 10% +/- 4%（p = 0.04）。在一周的可可反应中，与 FPC 组相比，FRC 组中更多的受试者 MFV 增加（p < 0.05）。
总之，我们表明，FRC 的饮食摄入与 TCD 测量的 MCA 脑血流速度的显著增加有关。我们的数据表明，定期摄入可可黄烷醇在治疗脑血管缺血综合征，包括痴呆和中风方面具有有希望的作用。
