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Le LNN, Wheeler GJ, Holy EN, Donnay CA, Blockley NP, Yee AH, Ng KL, Fan AP. Cortical oxygen extraction fraction using quantitative BOLD MRI and cerebral blood flow during vasodilation. Front Physiol 2023; 14:1231793. [PMID: 37869717 PMCID: PMC10588655 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1231793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: We aimed to demonstrate non-invasive measurements of regional oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) from quantitative BOLD MRI modeling at baseline and after pharmacological vasodilation. We hypothesized that OEF decreases in response to vasodilation with acetazolamide (ACZ) in healthy conditions, reflecting compensation in regions with increased cerebral blood flow (CBF), while cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) remained unchanged. We also aimed to assess the relationship between OEF and perfusion in the default mode network (DMN) regions that have shown associations with vascular risk factors and cerebrovascular reactivity in different neurological conditions. Material and methods: Eight healthy subjects (47 ± 13 years, 6 female) were scanned on a 3 T scanner with a 32-channel head coil before and after administration of 15 mg/kg ACZ as a pharmacological vasodilator. The MR imaging acquisition protocols included: 1) A Gradient Echo Slice Excitation Profile Imaging Asymmetric Spin Echo scan to quantify OEF, deoxygenated blood volume, and reversible transverse relaxation rate (R2 ') and 2) a multi-post labeling delay arterial spin labeling scan to measure CBF. To assess changes in each parameter due to vasodilation, two-way t-tests were performed for all pairs (baseline versus vasodilation) in the DMN brain regions with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. The relationships between CBF versus OEF and CBF versus R2' were analyzed and compared across DMN regions using linear, mixed-effect models. Results: During vasodilation, CBF significantly increased in the medial frontal cortex (P = 0.004 ), posterior cingulate gyrus (pCG) (P = 0.004 ), precuneus cortex (PCun) (P = 0.004 ), and occipital pole (P = 0.001 ). Concurrently, a significant decrease in OEF was observed only in the pCG (8.8%, P = 0.003 ) and PCun (8.7 % , P = 0.001 ). CMRO2 showed a trend of increased values after vasodilation, but these differences were not significant after correction for multiple comparisons. Although R2' showed a slightly decreasing trend, no statistically significant changes were found in any regions in response to ACZ. The CBF response to ACZ exhibited a stronger negative correlation with OEF (β = - 0.104 ± 0.027 ; t = - 3.852 , P < 0.001 ), than with R2' (β = - 0.016 ± 0.006 ; t = - 2.692 , P = 0.008 ). Conclusion: Quantitative BOLD modeling can reliably measure OEF across multiple physiological conditions and captures vascular changes with higher sensitivity than R2' values. The inverse correlation between OEF and CBF across regions in DMN, suggests that these two measurements, in response to ACZ vasodilation, are reliable indicators of tissue health in this healthy cohort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linh N. N. Le
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Gregory J. Wheeler
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Emily N. Holy
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Corinne A. Donnay
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Nicholas P. Blockley
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Alan H. Yee
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Kwan L. Ng
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Audrey P. Fan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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Li H, Wang C, Yu X, Luo Y, Wang H. Measurement of Cerebral Oxygen Extraction Fraction Using Quantitative BOLD Approach: A Review. PHENOMICS (CHAM, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 3:101-118. [PMID: 36939794 PMCID: PMC9883382 DOI: 10.1007/s43657-022-00081-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Quantification of brain oxygenation and metabolism, both of which are indicators of the level of brain activity, plays a vital role in understanding the cerebral perfusion and the pathophysiology of brain disorders. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a widely used clinical imaging technique, which is very sensitive to magnetic susceptibility, has the possibility of substituting positron emission tomography (PET) in measuring oxygen metabolism. This review mainly focuses on the quantitative blood oxygenation level-dependent (qBOLD) method for the evaluation of oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) in the brain. Here, we review the theoretic basis of qBOLD, as well as existing acquisition and quantification methods. Some published clinical studies are also presented, and the pros and cons of qBOLD method are discussed as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongwei Li
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, 200433 China
| | - Chengyan Wang
- Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203 China
| | - Xuchen Yu
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, 200433 China
| | - Yu Luo
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Fourth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200434 China
| | - He Wang
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, 200433 China
- Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203 China
- Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, (Fudan University), Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200433 China
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3
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Küppers F, Yun SD, Shah NJ. Development of a novel 10-echo multi-contrast sequence based on EPIK to deliver simultaneous quantification of T 2 and T 2 * with application to oxygen extraction fraction. Magn Reson Med 2022; 88:1608-1623. [PMID: 35657054 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The simultaneous quantification of T2 and T2 * maps based on fast sequences for combined GE and SE acquisition has rekindled research and clinical interest by offering a wide range of attractive applications, e.g., dynamic tracking of oxygen extraction fraction (OEF). However, previously published methods based on EPI-readouts have been hindered by resolution and the number of acquired echoes. METHODS This work presents a novel 10-echo GE-SE EPIK (EPI with keyhole) sequence for the rapid quantification of T2 '. T2 /T2 * maps from the GE-SE EPIK sequence were validated using three phantoms and 15 volunteers at 3T. The incorporation of a sliding window approach, combined with the full sampling of the k-space center inherent to EPIK, enables a high effective temporal resolution. That is, for an eight-slice breath-hold experiment, a temporal sampling rate of eight reconstructed slices per 1.1 s. RESULTS In comparison with repeated single-echo SE, multi-echo GE, and spectroscopy methods, the GE-SE EPIK sequence shows good agreement in quantifying T2 /T2 * values, while the gray matter/white matter separation yielded the expected contrast differentiation. The OEF was calculated with a view to an initial application with clinical relevance, producing results comparable to those in the literature and with good sensitivity in breath-hold experiments. CONCLUSIONS GE-SE EPIK provides increased resolution and more echoes, including two SEs, than comparable sequences. Moreover, GE-SE EPIK achieves this within an acquisition time of 57 s for 20 slices (matrix size = 128×128; FOV = 24 cm) and with a reasonably short TE for the final echo (114 ms). The sequence can dynamically track OEF changes in a breath-hold experiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Küppers
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.,RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Seong Dae Yun
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - N Jon Shah
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 11, INM-11, JARA, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.,JARA - BRAIN - Translational Medicine, Aachen, Germany.,Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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4
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Li W, Xu F, Zhu D, van Zijl PCM, Qin Q. T 2 -oximetry-based cerebral venous oxygenation mapping using Fourier-transform-based velocity-selective pulse trains. Magn Reson Med 2022; 88:1292-1302. [PMID: 35608208 PMCID: PMC9247032 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Purpose To develop a T2‐oximetry method for quantitative mapping of cerebral venous oxygenation fraction (Yv) using Fourier‐transform–based velocity‐selective (FT‐VS) pulse trains. Methods The venous isolation preparation was achieved by using an FT‐VS inversion plus a nonselective inversion (NSI) pulse to null the arterial blood signal while minimally affected capillary blood flows out into the venular vasculature during the outflow time (TO), and then applying an Fourier transform based velocity selective saturation (FT‐VSS) pulse to suppress the tissue signal. A multi‐echo readout was employed to obtain venous T2 (T2,v) efficiently with the last echo used to detect the residual CSF signal and correct its contamination in the fitting. Here we compared the performance of this FT‐VS–based venous isolation preparations with a traditional velocity‐selective saturation (VSS)–based approach (quantitative imaging of extraction of oxygen and tissue consumption [QUIXOTIC]) with different cutoff velocities for Yv mapping on 6 healthy volunteers at 3 Tesla. Results The FT‐VS–based methods yielded higher venous blood signal and temporal SNR with less CSF contamination than the velocity‐selective saturation–based results. The averaged Yv values across the whole slice measured in different experiments were close to the global Yv measured from the individual internal jugular vein. Conclusion The feasibility of the FT‐VS–based Yv estimation was demonstrated on healthy volunteers. The obtained high venous signal as well as the mitigation of CSF contamination led to a good agreement between the T2,v and Yv measured in the proposed method with the values in the literature. Click here for author‐reader discussions
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenbo Li
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of MR Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Feng Xu
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of MR Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Dan Zhu
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of MR Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Peter C M van Zijl
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of MR Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Qin Qin
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of MR Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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Jiang D, Lu H. Cerebral oxygen extraction fraction MRI: Techniques and applications. Magn Reson Med 2022; 88:575-600. [PMID: 35510696 PMCID: PMC9233013 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The human brain constitutes 2% of the body's total mass but uses 20% of the oxygen. The rate of the brain's oxygen utilization can be derived from a knowledge of cerebral blood flow and the oxygen extraction fraction (OEF). Therefore, OEF is a key physiological parameter of the brain's function and metabolism. OEF has been suggested to be a useful biomarker in a number of brain diseases. With recent advances in MRI techniques, several MRI-based methods have been developed to measure OEF in the human brain. These MRI OEF techniques are based on the T2 of blood, the blood signal phase, the magnetic susceptibility of blood-containing voxels, the effect of deoxyhemoglobin on signal behavior in extravascular tissue, and the calibration of the BOLD signal using gas inhalation. Compared to 15 O PET, which is considered the "gold standard" for OEF measurement, MRI-based techniques are non-invasive, radiation-free, and are more widely available. This article provides a review of these emerging MRI-based OEF techniques. We first briefly introduce the role of OEF in brain oxygen homeostasis. We then review the methodological aspects of different categories of MRI OEF techniques, including their signal mechanisms, acquisition methods, and data analyses. The strengths and limitations of the techniques are discussed. Finally, we review key applications of these techniques in physiological and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dengrong Jiang
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology & Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Hanzhang Lu
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology & Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Research Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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6
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Zhang Y, Du W, Yin Y, Li H, Liu Z, Yang Y, Han Y, Gao JH. Impaired cerebral vascular and metabolic responses to parametric N-back tasks in subjective cognitive decline. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2021; 41:2743-2755. [PMID: 33951945 PMCID: PMC8504959 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x211012153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies reported abnormally increased and/or decreased blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activations during functional tasks in subjective cognitive decline (SCD). The neurophysiological basis underlying these functional aberrations remains debated. This study aims to investigate vascular and metabolic responses and their dependence on cognitive processing loads during functional tasks in SCD. Twenty-one SCD and 18 control subjects performed parametric N-back working-memory tasks during MRI scans. Task-evoked percentage changes (denoted as δ) in cerebral blood volume (δCBV), cerebral blood flow (δCBF), BOLD signal (δBOLD) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (δCMRO2) were evaluated. In the frontal lobe, trends of decreased δCBV, δCBF and δCMRO2 and increased δBOLD were observed in SCD compared with control subjects under lower loads, and these trends increased to significant differences under the 3-back load. δCBF was significantly correlated with δCMRO2 in controls, but not in SCD subjects. As N-back loads increased, the differences between SCD and control subjects in δCBF and δCMRO2 tended to enlarge. In the parietal lobe, no significant between-group difference was observed. Our findings suggested that impaired vascular and metabolic responses to functional tasks occurred in the frontal lobe of SCD, which contributed to unusual BOLD hyperactivation and was modulated by cognitive processing loads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaoyu Zhang
- Institute for Medical Imaging Technology, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Wenying Du
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yayan Yin
- Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Huanjie Li
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Zhaowei Liu
- Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (Institute of Neuroscience), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Yang Yang
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Han
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Biomedical Engineering Institute, Hainan University, Haikou, China.,Center of Alzheimer's Disease, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Beijing, China
| | - Jia-Hong Gao
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.,McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
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7
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Yin Y, Shu S, Qin L, Shan Y, Gao JH, Lu J. Effects of mild hypoxia on oxygen extraction fraction responses to brain stimulation. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2021; 41:2216-2228. [PMID: 33563081 PMCID: PMC8393298 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x21992896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Characterizing the effect of limited oxygen availability on brain metabolism during brain activation is an essential step towards a better understanding of brain homeostasis and has obvious clinical implications. However, how the cerebral oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) depends on oxygen availability during brain activation remains unclear, which is mostly attributable to the scarcity and safety of measurement techniques. Recently, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method that enables noninvasive and dynamic measurement of the OEF has been developed and confirmed to be applicable to functional MRI studies. Using this novel method, the present study investigated the motor-evoked OEF response in both normoxia (21% O2) and hypoxia (12% O2). Our results showed that OEF activation decreased in the brain areas involved in motor task execution. Decreases in the motor-evoked OEF response were greater under hypoxia (-21.7% ± 5.5%) than under normoxia (-11.8% ± 3.7%) and showed a substantial decrease as a function of arterial oxygen saturation. These findings suggest a different relationship between oxygen delivery and consumption during hypoxia compared to normoxia. This methodology may provide a new perspective on the effects of mild hypoxia on brain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yayan Yin
- Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China
| | - Su Shu
- Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Lang Qin
- Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Shan
- Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China
| | - Jia-Hong Gao
- Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.,McGovern Institution for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Lu
- Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China.,Department of Nuclear Medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Callewaert B, Jones EAV, Himmelreich U, Gsell W. Non-Invasive Evaluation of Cerebral Microvasculature Using Pre-Clinical MRI: Principles, Advantages and Limitations. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021; 11:diagnostics11060926. [PMID: 34064194 PMCID: PMC8224283 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics11060926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Alterations to the cerebral microcirculation have been recognized to play a crucial role in the development of neurodegenerative disorders. However, the exact role of the microvascular alterations in the pathophysiological mechanisms often remains poorly understood. The early detection of changes in microcirculation and cerebral blood flow (CBF) can be used to get a better understanding of underlying disease mechanisms. This could be an important step towards the development of new treatment approaches. Animal models allow for the study of the disease mechanism at several stages of development, before the onset of clinical symptoms, and the verification with invasive imaging techniques. Specifically, pre-clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important tool for the development and validation of MRI sequences under clinically relevant conditions. This article reviews MRI strategies providing indirect non-invasive measurements of microvascular changes in the rodent brain that can be used for early detection and characterization of neurodegenerative disorders. The perfusion MRI techniques: Dynamic Contrast Enhanced (DCE), Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast Enhanced (DSC) and Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL), will be discussed, followed by less established imaging strategies used to analyze the cerebral microcirculation: Intravoxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM), Vascular Space Occupancy (VASO), Steady-State Susceptibility Contrast (SSC), Vessel size imaging, SAGE-based DSC, Phase Contrast Flow (PC) Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) and quantitative Blood-Oxygenation-Level-Dependent (qBOLD). We will emphasize the advantages and limitations of each strategy, in particular on applications for high-field MRI in the rodent's brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bram Callewaert
- Biomedical MRI Group, University of Leuven, Herestraat 49, bus 505, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (B.C.); (W.G.)
- CMVB, Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology, University of Leuven, Herestraat 49, bus 911, 3000 Leuven, Belgium;
| | - Elizabeth A. V. Jones
- CMVB, Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology, University of Leuven, Herestraat 49, bus 911, 3000 Leuven, Belgium;
- CARIM, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 50, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Uwe Himmelreich
- Biomedical MRI Group, University of Leuven, Herestraat 49, bus 505, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (B.C.); (W.G.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Willy Gsell
- Biomedical MRI Group, University of Leuven, Herestraat 49, bus 505, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (B.C.); (W.G.)
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Zhang Y, Yin Y, Li H, Gao JH. Measurement of CMRO 2 and its relationship with CBF in hypoxia with an extended calibrated BOLD method. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2020; 40:2066-2080. [PMID: 31665954 PMCID: PMC7786846 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x19885124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) are physiological parameters that not only reflect brain health and disease but also jointly contribute to blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals. Nevertheless, unsolved issues remain concerning the CBF-CMRO2 relationship in the working brain under various oxygen conditions. In particular, the CMRO2 responses to functional tasks in hypoxia are less studied. We extended the calibrated BOLD model to incorporate CMRO2 measurements in hypoxia. The extended model, which was cross-validated with a multicompartment BOLD model, considers the influences of the reduced arterial saturation level and increased baseline cerebral blood volume (CBV) and deoxyhemoglobin concentration on the changes of BOLD signals in hypoxia. By implementing a pulse sequence to simultaneously acquire the CBV-, CBF- and BOLD-weighted signals, we investigated the effects of mild hypoxia on the CBF and CMRO2 responses to graded visual stimuli. Compared with normoxia, mild hypoxia caused significant alterations in both the amplitude and the trend of the CMRO2 responses but did not impact the corresponding CBF responses. Our observations suggested that the flow-metabolism coupling strategies in the brain during mild hypoxia were different from those during normoxia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaoyu Zhang
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yayan Yin
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Huanjie Li
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Jia-Hong Gao
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.,McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
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10
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Yang Y, Yin Y, Lu J, Zou Q, Gao JH. Detecting resting-state brain activity using OEF-weighted imaging. Neuroimage 2019; 200:101-120. [PMID: 31228637 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.06.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Revised: 06/03/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Traditional resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is mainly based on the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast. The oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) represents an important parameter of brain metabolism and is a key biomarker of tissue viability, detecting the ratio of oxygen utilization to oxygen delivery. Investigating spontaneous fluctuations in the OEF-weighted signal is crucial for understanding the underlying mechanism of brain activity because of the immense energy budget during the resting state. However, due to the poor temporal resolution of OEF mapping, no studies have reported using OEF contrast to assess resting-state brain activity. In this fMRI study, we recorded brain OEF-weighted fluctuations for 10 min in healthy volunteers across two scanning visits, using our recently developed pulse sequence that can acquire whole-brain voxel-wise OEF-weighted signals with a temporal resolution of 3 s. Using both group-independent component analysis and seed-based functional connectivity analysis, we robustly identified intrinsic brain networks, including the medial visual, lateral visual, auditory, default mode and bilateral executive control networks, using OEF contrast. Furthermore, we investigated the resting-state local characteristics of brain activity based on OEF-weighted signals using regional homogeneity (ReHo) and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF). We demonstrated that the gray matter regions of the brain, especially those in the default mode network, showed higher ReHo and fALFF values with the OEF contrast. Moreover, voxel-wise test-retest reliability comparisons across the whole brain demonstrated that the reliability of resting-state brain activity based on the OEF contrast was moderate for the network indices and high for the local activity indices, especially for ReHo. Although the reliabilities of the OEF-based indices were generally lower than those based on BOLD, the reliability of OEF-ReHo was slightly higher than that of BOLD-ReHo, with a small effect size, which indicated that OEF-ReHo could be used as a reliable index for characterizing resting-state local brain activity as a complement to BOLD. In conclusion, OEF can be used as an effective contrast to study resting-state brain activity with a medium to high test-retest reliability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institution of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Yayan Yin
- Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, 100053, China
| | - Jie Lu
- Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, 100053, China.
| | - Qihong Zou
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
| | - Jia-Hong Gao
- Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institution of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China; Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, 518057, China.
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