Applying a novel approach for cerebrovascular function assessment to dementia

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K08931
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: General internal medicine(including psychosomatic medicine)
• Research Institution: Kyorin University
• Principal Investigator: Shibata Shigeki 杏林大学, 保健学部, 教授 (90636474)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 経頭蓋ドップラー / 脳血管機能 / 認知症 / 動脈硬化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It has been known that arterial stiffening with aging is significantly associated with cognitive dysfunction. The present study showed using indices obtained from a transcranial Doppler method that cerebral hemodynamics and cerebrovascular function were more strongly impaired in elderly patients with dementia as compared with healthy elderly individuals. It was also shown that these cerebrovascular indices were significantly associated with cognitive function, pathophysiologic characteristics of Alzheimer type dementia such as hippocampal atrophy and blood flow reduction, and pathophysiologic characteristics of vascular dementia such as cerebral white matter lesion. Moreover, our results suggest that the cerebrovascular indices are more strongly related with dementia as compared with a conventional index of arterial stiffness such as pulse wave velocity.

Free Research Field

老年医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

最近の研究で、加齢に伴う動脈硬化の進展が将来の認知症発症の予測因子であること、更には認知症の病理学的変化に先行して生じることが示されている。そのため、高齢者の動脈硬化の進展を評価することが認知症発症の高リスク群の同定や早期治療に有用であると考えられてきている。本研究では非侵襲的な方法で脳血管機能を評価し、脳血管機能が認知症と関係していることを示した先駆性の高い研究であり、学術的意義は大きいと言える。更に、これらの指標は従来の動脈硬化の指標より認知症と関係が深いことが示されており、認知症発症の高リスク群の同定や早期治療に新しいアプローチを提供する可能性があり、社会的意義も大きいと言える。