The Association Between Perivascular Spaces and Cerebral Blood Flow, Brain Volume, and Cardiovascular Risk
Sirui Liu, Bo Hou, Hui You, Yiwei Zhang, Yi‐Cheng Zhu, Chao Ma, Zhentao Zuo, Feng Feng
Abstract
Background: Basal ganglia perivascular spaces are associated with cognitive decline and cardiovascular risk factors. There is a lack of studies on the cardiovascular risk burden of basal ganglia perivascular spaces (BG-PVS) and their relationship with gray matter volume (GMV) and GM cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the aging brain. Here, we investigated these two issues in a large sample of cognitively intact older adults. Methods: A total of 734 volunteers were recruited. MRI was performed with 3.0 T using a pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) sequence and a sagittal isotropic T1-weighted sequence for CBF and GMV analysis. The images obtained from 406 participants were analyzed to investigate the relationship between the severity of BG-PVS and GMV/CBF. False discovery rate-corrected P -values ( P FDR ) of <0.05 were considered significant. The images obtained from 254 participants were used to study the relationship between the severity of BG-PVS and cardiovascular risk burden. BG-PVS were rated using a 5-grade score. The severity of BG-PVS was classified as mild (grade <3) and severe (grade ≥3). Cardiovascular risk burden was assessed with the Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Score (FGCRS). Results: Severe basal ganglia perivascular spaces were associated with significantly smaller GMV and CBF in multiple cortical regions ( P FDR <0.05), and were associated with significantly larger volume in the bilateral caudate nucleus, pallidum, and putamen ( P FDR <0.05). The participants with severe BG-PVS were more likely to have a higher cardiovascular risk burden than the participants with mild BG-PVS (60.71% vs. 42.93%; P =0.02). Conclusion: In cognitively intact older adults, severe BG-PVS are associated with smaller cortical GMV and CBF, larger subcortical GMV, and higher cardiovascular risk burden.