Yinan Liu1,2, Howard Rosen3,
Bruce Miller3, Michael Weiner1,2, Norbert Schuff1,2
1Center for Imaging of
Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center,
San Francisco, CA, United States; 2Department of Radiology &
Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United
States; 3Memory & Aging Center, Department of Neurology,
University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
Reductions in regional cerebral blood flow(rCBF) and volume(rCBV) in Alzheimers disease(AD) and mild cognitive impairment(MCI), are generally interpreted as a consequence of diminished brain function, but vascular factors, restricting blood supply could be a secondary factor. Using a four phase discrete ASL model, we found bolus arrival time(BAT), arterial-arteriole transit time(aaTT), and time-to-peak(TP) are prolonged in AD and MCI relative to cognitively normal elders. The findings demonstrate that vascular aspects contribute to rCBF and rCBV reductions and should improve the classification of in AD and MCI.