Department of Neurology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands; CARIM - School for Cardiovascular Diseases, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands; MHeNs - School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
J Neurol Sci. 2022 Sep 15;440:120359. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2022.120359. Epub 2022 Jul 28.
The easily accessible retinal vessels provide a unique opportunity to study a proxy for cerebral small vessels. Associations between retinal vessel diameters and macrostructural brain white matter changes have already been demonstrated. Alterations in microvascular function, likely precede these structural abnormalities. We examined whether retinal microvascular function is related to cerebral microvascular properties, assessed by the intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) effect in brain MRI.
Seventy participants (age 60 ± 8 years, 41% women) from the population-based Maastricht Study underwent brain IVIM diffusion imaging (3 Tesla) to determine the microvascular measures f (perfusion volume fraction) and D* (pseudo-diffusion of circulating blood). The retinal arteriolar and venular dilation response to flicker light stimulation were measured by a dynamic vessel analyzer. Linear regression analysis was used to investigate associations between retinal vasoreactivity and IVIM measures in white matter hyperintensities (WMH), normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and cortical gray matter (CGM).
More retinal arteriolar dilation was significantly associated with stronger pseudo-diffusion (D*) in the NAWM and CGM (β 0.280 [95% CI 0.084-0.475], and β 0.310 [95% CI 0.091-0.528], respectively), but not with the cerebral blood volume fraction (f). No associations were observed between retinal venular dilation response and cerebrovascular IVIM measures.
Variations in retinal arteriolar microvascular function and microcirculatory properties in the brain are linked. The retina could serve as a proxy for early detection of brain microvascular dysfunction.
易于触及的视网膜血管为研究脑小血管的替代物提供了独特的机会。已经证明视网膜血管直径与大脑白质宏观结构变化之间存在关联。微血管功能的改变可能先于这些结构异常。我们检查了视网膜微血管功能是否与脑微血管特性有关，脑 MRI 的体素内不相干运动 (IVIM) 效应可评估脑微血管特性。
来自人群基础 Maastricht 研究的 70 名参与者（年龄 60 ± 8 岁，41%为女性）接受了脑部 IVIM 扩散成像（3 Tesla），以确定微血管测量值 f（灌注容积分数）和 D*（循环血液的假性扩散）。通过动态血管分析仪测量视网膜动脉和静脉对闪烁光刺激的扩张反应。线性回归分析用于研究视网膜血管反应性与脑白质高信号（WMH）、正常外观白质（NAWM）和皮质灰质（CGM）中的 IVIM 测量值之间的关联。
视网膜动脉扩张程度越大，与 NAWM 和 CGM 中的假性扩散（D*）越强呈显著相关（β 0.280 [95%CI 0.084-0.475] 和 β 0.310 [95%CI 0.091-0.528]），但与脑血容量分数（f）无关。视网膜静脉扩张反应与脑血管 IVIM 测量值之间未观察到相关性。
视网膜小动脉微血管功能和脑微循环特性的变化相关。视网膜可作为检测脑微血管功能障碍的早期指标。
