Smith, Lorna A.;
(2019)
Cerebral blood flow measurements with arterial spin labelling in a tri-ethnic population cohort: associations of cardiovascular risk factors and MR imaging markers of
brain ageing.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
Preview |
Text
LS_thesis_final_submitted.pdf - Accepted Version Download (8MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Differences in cerebral blood flow (CBF) have been identified between older individuals in good cognitive health and those experiencing cognitive decline and dementia. Previous studies have shown that the aetiology of dementia includes a substantial vascular component and there is evidence that CBF decline in old age may be linked to cardiovascular disease. Although the incidence, prevalence and impact of vascular risk varies by ethnicity and gender, many previous studies have focused on participants of white European origin or have pooled ethnically diverse samples, while differences between sexes have been under-investigated. This thesis used arterial spin labelling (ASL) to measure cortical CBF in an elderly tri-ethnic population cohort and examined its relationship with vascular risk and the brain ageing markers of cortical volume and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Chapter 4 showed that use of the currently recommended mean haematocrit (Hct) value in equations that calculate CBF from ASL underestimated CBF in women and non-European ethnicities. The alternative method of substituting individually measured Hct into the equation was implemented in the following chapters. Results from Chapter 5 indicated that increased vascular risk factors were associated with lower CBF, but these relationships varied by ethnicity and sex. Ethnicity and sex also modified the strength of associations of increased vascular risk with decreased cortical tissue volume and increased volume of WMHs examined in Chapter 6. However, there was no evidence of any association of CBF with the MRI markers of brain ageing.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Cerebral blood flow measurements with arterial spin labelling in a tri-ethnic population cohort: associations of cardiovascular risk factors and MR imaging markers of brain ageing |
| Event: | UCL |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2019. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10088204 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
