02893nas a2200361 4500008004100000022001400041245015400055210006900209260001300278300001100291490000700302520181400309653002202123653001002145653001002155653001802165653003202183653001102215653001102226653003102237653000902268653003102277653004102308653001602349100001702365700002002382700002102402700001602423700001702439700002102456700001802477856003602495 2009 eng d a1552-656900aImaging cerebral blood flow in the cognitively normal aging brain with arterial spin labeling: implications for imaging of neurodegenerative disease.0 aImaging cerebral blood flow in the cognitively normal aging brai c2009 Oct a344-520 v193 a

INTRODUCTION: Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a safe, noninvasive imaging method for evaluating cerebral blood flow (rCBF). The purpose of this article is to present ASL imaging features of 38 elderly cognitively normals (CN) with their rCBF values and an averaged profile of targeted anatomic regions rCBF values.

METHODS: Thirty-eight CN underwent MR imaging especially ASL with voxel morphometric techniques fusing the MR anatomical and ASL images to a standard reference brain (colin27). The ASL images were fused to echo planar images, which were then coregistered to high-resolution anatomical SPGR images. rCBF was calculated per region of interest using a modified continuous arterial spin labeling (CASL) convolutional method. Anatomical regions were selected and identified by the Talairach atlas in SPM2.

RESULTS: We identified areas of decreased and increased perfusion (compared to the averaged rCBF of all 38 CN) corresponding to decreased and increased quantified rCBF. The most common sites for decreased perfusion were precuneus (53%), superior temporal (48%), and orbitofrontal (37%), and for increased perfusion the caudate (39%), posterior cingulate (34%), anterior cingulate (32%), and amygdala (32%).

CONCLUSION: There are regional variations in rCBF both increased and decreased with the posterior cingulate and precuneus cortex showing the highest averaged values and signal intensity (bright spots). These variations represent the normal profile of a CN elderly brain, with higher perfusion in areas associated with cognition, memory, and behavior. It is necessary to understand these normal variations in order to determine if there are perfusion changes in ASL detected in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

10aAged, 80 and over10aAging10aBrain10aBrain Mapping10aCerebrovascular Circulation10aFemale10aHumans10aMagnetic Resonance Imaging10aMale10aNeurodegenerative Diseases10aSignal Processing, Computer-Assisted10aSpin Labels1 aLee, Charles1 aLopez, Oscar, L1 aBecker, James, T1 aRaji, Cyrus1 aDai, Weiying1 aKuller, Lewis, H1 aGach, Michael uhttps://chs-nhlbi.org/node/1086