Moir M Erin, Loggie Nicole A, Fico Brandon G, Gaynor-Metzinger Sarean Harmoni A, Norby Alexander M, Zea Ryan D, Howery Anna J, Rivera-Rivera Leonardo A, Eisenmenger Laura B, Wieben Oliver, Johnson Sterling C, Barnes Jill N
Bruno Balke Biodynamics Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States.
Department of Exercise Science and Health Promotion, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, United States.
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2025 Jun 1;328(6):H1306-H1317. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00061.2025. Epub 2025 May 2.
Arterial stiffening with age, which is associated with elevated cerebral pulsatility in the intracranial arteries, is linked to structural alterations in the brain, including white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Biological sex differences exist in cerebral hemodynamics and Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk; yet, little is known regarding the impact of biological sex on the association between cerebral pulsatility and WMH. We studied 403 cognitively unimpaired middle-aged and older adults (45-91 yr, 272 females) who completed 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Four-dimensional (4D) flow MRI provided measures of cerebral pulsatility index (PI) in multiple intracranial arteries. T2 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images were analyzed for WMH volumes. In middle-aged adults, PI in the internal carotid arteries (ICA) and the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) was positively associated with WMH in females (all < 0.01) but not in males (all > 0.25). In older adults, PI in the left ICA and the MCAs was positively associated with WMH in males and females (all ≤ 0.02). Also, in older adults, basilar artery PI was positively associated with WMH in females ( = 0.006) but not males ( = 0.31). These data suggest that, among cognitively unimpaired adults, elevated cerebral PI is linked to greater WMH; however, these relationships are influenced by sex and age such that female-specific relationships emerge in the anterior circulation in middle age, and in the posterior circulation in older adults. These findings may provide insights to vascular mechanisms contributing to sex differences in AD with advancing age. The vascular mechanisms underlying the elevated prevalence of Alzheimer's disease among females remain unclear. In this study, we found that positive relationships between cerebral pulsatility in the anterior circulation and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) emerged in females in middle age but not until older adulthood in males. In addition, female-specific relationships were present between cerebral pulsatility in the posterior circulation and WMH in older adults.
随着年龄增长,动脉僵硬度增加,这与颅内动脉脑搏动性升高有关,且与大脑结构改变相关,包括白质高信号(WMH)。脑血流动力学和阿尔茨海默病(AD)风险存在生物学性别差异;然而,关于生物学性别对脑搏动性与WMH之间关联的影响知之甚少。我们研究了403名认知未受损的中老年人(45 - 91岁,272名女性),他们完成了3T磁共振成像(MRI)检查。四维(4D)血流MRI提供了多条颅内动脉的脑搏动指数(PI)测量值。分析了T2液体衰减反转恢复图像以获取WMH体积。在中年成年人中,女性颈内动脉(ICA)和右侧大脑中动脉(MCA)的PI与WMH呈正相关(均P<0.01),而男性则无此关联(均P>0.25)。在老年人中,左侧ICA和MCA的PI与男性和女性的WMH均呈正相关(均P≤0.02)。此外,在老年人中,基底动脉PI与女性的WMH呈正相关(P = 0.006),而男性则无此关联(P = 0.31)。这些数据表明,在认知未受损的成年人中,脑PI升高与更大的WMH相关;然而,这些关系受性别和年龄影响,使得中年女性在前循环中出现特定性别关系,而老年女性在后循环中出现特定性别关系。这些发现可能为导致AD随年龄增长出现性别差异的血管机制提供见解。女性中阿尔茨海默病患病率升高的潜在血管机制仍不清楚。在本研究中,我们发现中年女性前循环脑搏动性与白质高信号(WMH)之间存在正相关关系,而男性直到老年才出现这种关系。此外,老年女性后循环脑搏动性与WMH之间存在特定性别关系。