Feasibility of Using Pseudo-Continuous Arterial Spin Labeling Perfusion in a Geriatric Population at 1.5 Tesla

Sigurdur Sigurdsson, Lars Forsberg, Thor Aspelund, Rob J. Van Der Geest, Mark A. Van Buchem, Lenore J. Launer, Vilmundur Gudnason, Matthias J. Van Osch

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Objectives To evaluate the feasibility of using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) perfusion in a geriatric population at 1.5-Tesla. Materials and Methods In 17 participants (mean age 78.8±1.63 years) we assessed; 1) inter-session repeatability and reliability of resting state perfusion in 27 brain regions; 2) brain activation using fingertapping as a means to evaluate the ability to detect flow differences; 3) reliability by comparing cerebral blood flow (CBF) with pCASL to CBF with phase contrast (PC-MR). Results The CBF (mean±standard deviation (SD)) for the whole brain grey matter (GM) was 40.6±8.4 and 41.4±8.7 ml/100g/min for the first and second scan respectively. The within-subject standard deviation (SDw), the repeatability index (RI) and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) across the 27 regions ranged from 1.1 to 7.9, 2.2 to 15.5 and 0.35 to 0.98 respectively. For whole brain GM the SDw, RI and ICC were 1.6, 3.2 and 0.96 respectively. The between-subject standard deviation (SDB) was larger than the SDw for all regions. Comparison of CBF at rest and activation on a voxel level showed significantly higher perfusion during finger tapping in the motor- and somatosensory regions. Themean CBF for whole brain GMwas 40.6±8.4 ml/100g/ min at rest and 42.6±8.6ml/100g/min during activation. Finally the reliability of pCASL against the reference standard of PC-MR was high (ICC = 0.80). The mean CBF for whole brain measured with PC-MRI was 54.3±10.1 ml/100g/min and 38.3±7.8ml/100g/min with pCASL. Conclusions The results demonstrate moderate to high levels of repeatability and reliability for most brain regions, comparable to what has been reported for younger populations. The performance of pCASL at 1.5-Tesla shows that region-specific perfusion measurements with this technique are feasible in studies of a geriatric population.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0144743
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume10
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2015

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