Guang Li1, 2, Yen-Yu I. Shih2, Bryan H. De La Garza3, Jeffrey W. Kiel4, 5, Timothy Q. Duong, 13
1Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States; 2Research Imaging Institute , University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States; 3Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States; 4Ophthalmology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States; 5Physiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
There are clinical interests in dynamic cerebral autoregulation (DCA) assessment in diseases such as stroke and diabetic. We developed a rat model to assess DCA through transient BF changes during acute hypertension using MRI. We detected normal and impaired CA, and also revealed BF and oxygenation increases associated with acute BP elevation. Our study suggested that CA was established at a higher BF level during acute hypertension under normocapnia but it was impaired under hypercapnia. This method can be used for quick region-specific CA evaluation in normal and diseased physiology and can be extended to other organs such as eye.