Effect of inhibition of nitric oxide synthase on dynamic cerebral autoregulation in humans

2000 ◽  
Vol 99 (6) ◽  
pp. 555-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. WHITE ◽  
P. VALLANCE ◽  
H. S. MARKUS

Cerebral blood flow is maintained constant over a range of cerebral perfusion pressures by cerebral autoregulation. Impaired cerebral autoregulation may be important in the pathogenesis of cerebral ischaemia. The mechanisms mediating normal cerebral autoregulation in humans are poorly understood. We used a recently described transcranial Doppler technique, which allows non-invasive measurement of dynamic cerebral autoregulation, to test the hypothesis that nitric oxide mediates cerebral autoregulation. The rate of rise of middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity, compared with that of arterial blood pressure, was determined following a stepwise fall in arterial blood pressure, in order to calculate an autoregulatory index. The effect of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) on dynamic autoregulation was compared with that of noradrenaline titrated to result in a similar rise in blood pressure. Six healthy subjects were studied in each group. The mean (S.D.) change in autoregulatory index following noradrenaline at a similar pressor dose was significantly greater than the change following the L-NMMA bolus: 1.1 (1.2) compared with -0.8 (0.8) for the left middle cerebral artery (P = 0.002), and 1.1 (0.8) compared with -0.8 (0.8) for the right middle cerebral artery (P = 0.002). There was no difference in the mean (S.D.) blood pressure increase resulting from the two agents: L-NMMA, 19.7 (7.4) mmHg; noradrenaline, 15.5 (4.8) mmHg (P = 0.281). These results suggest that nitric oxide mediates at least part of the dynamic phase of cerebral autoregulation in humans. Reduced nitric oxide release may play a role in the impaired cerebral autoregulation seen in patients with, or at risk of, cerebral ischaemia.

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Willem J Elting ◽  
Jeanette Tas ◽  
Marcel JH Aries ◽  
Marek Czosnyka ◽  
Natasha M Maurits

We analysed mean arterial blood pressure, cerebral blood flow velocity, oxygenated haemoglobin and deoxygenated haemoglobin signals to estimate dynamic cerebral autoregulation. We compared macrovascular (mean arterial blood pressure-cerebral blood flow velocity) and microvascular (oxygenated haemoglobin-deoxygenated haemoglobin) dynamic cerebral autoregulation estimates during three different conditions: rest, mild hypocapnia and hypercapnia. Microvascular dynamic cerebral autoregulation estimates were created by introducing the constant time lag plus constant phase shift model, which enables correction for transit time, blood flow and blood volume oscillations (TT-BF/BV correction). After TT-BF/BV correction, a significant agreement between mean arterial blood pressure-cerebral blood flow velocity and oxygenated haemoglobin-deoxygenated haemoglobin phase differences in the low frequency band was found during rest (left: intraclass correlation=0.6, median phase difference 29.5° vs. 30.7°, right: intraclass correlation=0.56, median phase difference 32.6° vs. 39.8°) and mild hypocapnia (left: intraclass correlation=0.73, median phase difference 48.6° vs. 43.3°, right: intraclass correlation=0.70, median phase difference 52.1° vs. 61.8°). During hypercapnia, the mean transit time decreased and blood volume oscillations became much more prominent, except for very low frequencies. The transit time related to blood flow oscillations was remarkably stable during all conditions. We conclude that non-invasive microvascular dynamic cerebral autoregulation estimates are similar to macrovascular dynamic cerebral autoregulation estimates, after TT-BF/BV correction is applied. These findings may increase the feasibility of non-invasive continuous autoregulation monitoring and guided therapy in clinical situations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 558-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam C. Barnes ◽  
Naomi Ball ◽  
Ronney B. Panerai ◽  
Thompson G. Robinson ◽  
Victoria J. Haunton

Squat/stand maneuvers (SSM) have been used to assess dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA), but always at a fixed frequency (FF). This study aimed to assess the use of random-frequency (RF) SSMs as a stimulus for measuring dCA and determine the reproducibility of FF and RFSSMs. Twenty-nine healthy volunteers [19 male, mean age 23.0 (4.9) yr] completed the study; 11 returned for a repeat visit (median 45 days). Heart rate, beat-to-beat blood pressure, middle cerebral artery (MCA) blood flow velocity, end-tidal CO2, and angle of the squat movement were measured. Subjects underwent four recordings: 5 min sitting, 5 min standing, FFSSMs (0.05Hz), and RFSSMs. Subjects were asked to rate the degree of exertion experienced while performing these maneuvers. Twenty-nine subjects completed the protocol; nine data sets were deemed unsuitable for further analysis. Mean ARI of 6.21 (1.04) while standing was significantly greater than during the SSMs ( P < 0.01), with mean (SD) ARI during the FF and RFSSMs being 5.16 (1.43) and 5.37 (1.21), respectively. However, no significant difference was found between the ARI estimates from the two SSMs ( P = 0.856) or for each of the four recordings between the two visits ( P = 0.645). RFSSMs were found to be significantly less tiring than FFSSMs ( P < 0.01). In conclusion, RFSSMs are an effective and noninvasive method of assessing dCA. There is no difference in the ARI estimates in comparison with FFSSMs. Although FFSSMs have been well tolerated previously, RFSSMs are preferred by healthy subjects and thus may be better tolerated by a patient population in a clinical setting. NEW & NOTEWORTHY RFSSMs provided comparable estimates of autoregulatory indices to FFSSMs. Instead of point estimates at the driven frequency, RFSSMs generate a broader power spectrum of changes in arterial blood pressure and cerebral blood flow velocity, allowing direct comparison with spontaneous fluctuations through transfer function analysis. Moreover, random-frequency SSMs are preferred by participants. They are a novel tool by which larger blood pressure oscillations can be elicited for the reliable measurement of dynamic cerebral autoregulation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 303 (11) ◽  
pp. R1127-R1135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronan M. G. Berg ◽  
Ronni R. Plovsing ◽  
Andreas Ronit ◽  
Damian M. Bailey ◽  
Niels-Henrik Holstein-Rathlou ◽  
...  

Sepsis is frequently complicated by brain dysfunction, which may be associated with disturbances in cerebral autoregulation, rendering the brain susceptible to hypoperfusion and hyperperfusion. The purpose of the present study was to assess static and dynamic cerebral autoregulation 1) in a human experimental model of the systemic inflammatory response during early sepsis and 2) in patients with advanced sepsis. Cerebral autoregulation was tested using transcranial Doppler ultrasound in healthy volunteers ( n = 9) before and after LPS infusion and in patients with sepsis ( n = 16). Static autoregulation was tested by norepinephrine infusion and dynamic autoregulation by transfer function analysis (TFA) of spontaneous oscillations between mean arterial blood pressure and middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity in the low frequency range (0.07–0.20 Hz). Static autoregulatory performance after LPS infusion and in patients with sepsis was similar to values in healthy volunteers at baseline. In contrast, TFA showed decreased gain and an increased phase difference between blood pressure and middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity after LPS (both P < 0.01 vs. baseline); patients exhibited similar gain but lower phase difference values ( P < 0.01 vs. baseline and LPS), indicating a slower dynamic autoregulatory response. Our findings imply that static and dynamic cerebral autoregulatory performance may disassociate in sepsis; thus static autoregulation was maintained both after LPS and in patients with sepsis, whereas dynamic autoregulation was enhanced after LPS and impaired with a prolonged response time in patients. Hence, acute surges in blood pressure may adversely affect cerebral perfusion in patients with sepsis.


2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (8) ◽  
pp. 819-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Vovk ◽  
David A Cunningham ◽  
John M Kowalchuk ◽  
Donald H Paterson ◽  
James Duffin

This study characterized cerebral blood flow (CBF) responses in the middle cerebral artery to PCO2ranging from 30 to 60 mmHg (1 mmHg = 133.322 Pa) during hypoxia (50 mmHg) and hyperoxia (200 mmHg). Eight subjects (25 ± 3 years) underwent modified Read rebreathing tests in a background of constant hypoxia or hyperoxia. Mean cerebral blood velocity was measured using a transcranial Doppler ultrasound. Ventilation (VE), end-tidal PCO2 (PETCO2), and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) data were also collected. CBF increased with rising PETCO2 at two rates, 1.63 ± 0.21 and 2.75 ± 0.27 cm·s–1·mmHg–1 (p < 0.05) during hypoxic and 1.69 ± 0.17 and 2.80 ± 0.14 cm·s–1·mmHg–1 (p < 0.05) during hyperoxic rebreathing. VE also increased at two rates (5.08 ± 0.67 and 10.89 ± 2.55 L·min–1·mmHg–1 and 3.31 ± 0.50 and 7.86 ± 1.43 L·min–1·mmHg–1) during hypoxic and hyperoxic rebreathing. MAP and PETCO2 increased linearly during both hypoxic and hyperoxic rebreathing. The breakpoint separating the two-component rise in CBF (42.92 ± 1.29 and 49.00 ± 1.56 mmHg CO2 during hypoxic and hyperoxic rebreathing) was likely not due to PCO2 or perfusion pressure, since PETCO2 and MAP increased linearly, but it may be related to VE, since both CBF and VE exhibited similar responses, suggesting that the two responses may be regulated by a common neural linkage. Key words: brain blood flow, middle cerebral artery, ventilation, mean arterial blood pressure.


1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (5) ◽  
pp. H2209-H2216 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Blaber ◽  
R. L. Bondar ◽  
F. Stein ◽  
P. T. Dunphy ◽  
P. Moradshahi ◽  
...  

We examined spectral fractal characteristics of middle cerebral artery (MCA) mean blood flow velocity (MFV) and mean arterial blood pressure adjusted to the level of the brain (MAPbrain) during graded tilt (5 min supine, −10°, 10°, 30°, 60°, −10°, supine) in eight autonomic failure patients and age- and sex-matched controls. From supine to 60°, patients had a larger drop in MAPbrain (62 ± 4.7 vs. 23 ± 4.5 mmHg, P < 0.001; means ± SE) and MFV (16.4 ± 3.8 vs. 7.0 ± 2.5 cm/s, P < 0.001) than in controls. From supine to 60°, there was a trend toward a decrease in the slope of the fractal component (β) of MFV (MFV-β) in both the patients and the controls, but only the patients had a significant decrease in MFV-β (supine: patient = 2.21 ± 0.18, control = 1.99 ± 0.60; 60°: patient = 1.46 ± 0.24, control = 1.62 ± 0.19). The β value of MAPbrain(MAPbrain-β; 2.19 ± 0.05) was not significantly different between patients and controls and did not change with tilt. High and low degrees of regulatory complexity are indicated by values of β close to 1.0 and 2.0, respectively. The increase in fractal complexity of cerebral MFV in the patients with tilt suggests an increase in the degree of autoregulation in the patients. This may be related to the drop in MAPbrain. The different response of MFV-β compared with that of MAPbrain-β also indicates that MFV-β is related to the regulation of cerebral vascular resistance and not systemic blood pressure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navpreet Reehal ◽  
Stephanie Cummings ◽  
Michael T. Mullen ◽  
Wesley B. Baker ◽  
David Kung ◽  
...  

Objective: Transcranial Doppler is commonly used to calculate cerebral autoregulation, but measurements are typically restricted to a single cerebral artery. In exploring topographic heterogeneity, this study reports the first thorough comparison of autoregulation in all major cerebral vessels.Methods: In forty healthy adults, flow velocity was monitored in the anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral arteries, and synchronized with arterial blood pressure. A transfer function analysis provided characteristics of autoregulation by quantifying the relationship between blood pressure and cerebral blood flow velocity.Results: Phase, which quantifies the time course of autoregulation, was similar in all vessels. Gain, which quantifies the magnitude of hemodynamic regulation, was lower in posterior cerebral artery, indicative of tighter regulation. However, after adjusting for baseline flow differences in each vascular territory, normalized gain was similar in all vessels.Conclusions: Discriminating dynamic cerebral autoregulation between cerebrovascular territories is feasible with a transcranial doppler based approach. In the posterior cerebral artery of healthy volunteers, absolute flow is more tightly regulated, but relative flow regulation is consistent across cerebrovascular territories.Significance: The methodology can be applied to focal disease states such as stroke or posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, in which the topographic distribution of autoregulation may be particularly critical.


2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sushmita Purkayastha ◽  
Otite Fadar ◽  
Aujan Mehregan ◽  
David H Salat ◽  
Nicola Moscufo ◽  
...  

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) in elderly individuals with vascular diseases are presumed to be due to ischemic small vessel diseases; however, their etiology is unknown. We examined the cross-sectional relationship between cerebrovascular hemodynamics and white matter structural integrity in elderly individuals with vascular risk factors. White matter hyperintensity volumes, fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD) were obtained from MRI in 48 subjects (75±7years). Pulsatility index (PI) and dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) was assessed using transcranial Doppler ultrasound of the middle cerebral artery. Dynamic cerebral autoregulation was calculated from transfer function analysis (phase and gain) of spontaneous blood pressure and flow velocity oscillations in the low (LF, 0.03 to 0.15 Hz) and high (HF, 0.16 to 0.5 Hz) frequency ranges. Higher PI was associated with greater WMH ( P<0.005). Higher phase across all frequency ranges was associated with greater FA and lower MD ( P<0.005). Lower gain was associated with higher FA in the LF range ( P=0.001). These relationships between phase and FA were significant in the territories limited to the middle cerebral artery as well as across the entire brain. Our results show a strong relationship between impaired cerebrovascular hemodynamics (PI and dCA) and loss of cerebral white matter structural integrity (WMH and DTI metrics) in elderly individuals.


1999 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 677-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basil F. Matta ◽  
Karen J. Heath ◽  
Kate Tipping ◽  
Andrew C. Summors

Background The effect of volatile anesthetics on cerebral blood flow depends on the balance between the indirect vasoconstrictive action secondary to flow-metabolism coupling and the agent's intrinsic vasodilatory action. This study compared the direct cerebral vasodilatory actions of 0.5 and 1.5 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) sevoflurane and isoflurane during an propofol-induced isoelectric electroencephalogram. Methods Twenty patients aged 20-62 yr with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I or II requiring general anesthesia for routine spinal surgery were recruited. In addition to routine monitoring, a transcranial Doppler ultrasound was used to measure blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery, and an electroencephalograph to measure brain electrical activity. Anesthesia was induced with propofol 2.5 mg/kg, fentanyl 2 micro/g/kg, and atracurium 0.5 mg/kg, and a propofol infusion was used to achieve electroencephalographic isoelectricity. End-tidal carbon dioxide, blood pressure, and temperature were maintained constant throughout the study period. Cerebral blood flow velocity, mean blood pressure, and heart rate were recorded after 20 min of isoelectric encephalogram. Patients were then assigned to receive either age-adjusted 0.5 MAC (0.8-1%) or 1.5 MAC (2.4-3%) end-tidal sevoflurane; or age-adjusted 0.5 MAC (0.5-0.7%) or 1.5 MAC (1.5-2%) end-tidal isoflurane. After 15 min of unchanged end-tidal concentration, the variables were measured again. The concentration of the inhalational agent was increased or decreased as appropriate, and all measurements were repeated again. All measurements were performed before the start of surgery. An infusion of 0.01% phenylephrine was used as necessary to maintain mean arterial pressure at baseline levels. Results Although both agents increased blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery at 0.5 and 1.5 MAC, this increase was significantly less during sevoflurane anesthesia (4+/-3 and 17+/-3% at 0.5 and 1.5 MAC sevoflurane; 19+/-3 and 72+/-9% at 0.5 and 1.5 MAC isoflurane [mean +/- SD]; P&lt;0.05). All patients required phenylephrine (100-300 microg) to maintain mean arterial pressure within 20% of baseline during 1.5 MAC anesthesia. Conclusions In common with other volatile anesthetic agents, sevoflurane has an intrinsic dose-dependent cerebral vasodilatory effect. However, this effect is less than that of isoflurane.


1979 ◽  
Vol 237 (3) ◽  
pp. H381-H385 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. F. Ellis ◽  
E. P. Wei ◽  
H. A. Kontos

To determine the possible role that endogenously produced prostaglandins may play in the regulation of cerebral blood flow, the responses of cerebral precapillary vessels to prostaglandins (PG) D2, E2, G2, and I2 (8.1 X 10(-8) to 2.7 X 10(-5) M) were studied in cats equipped with cranial windows for direct observation of the microvasculature. Local application of PGs induced a dose-dependent dilation of large (greater than or equal to 100 microns) and small (less than 100 microns) arterioles with no effect on arterial blood pressure. The relative vasodilator potency was PGG2 greater than PGE2 greater than PGI2 greater than PGD2. With all PGs, except D2, the percent dilation of small arterioles was greater than the dilation of large arterioles. After application of prostaglandins in a concentration of 2.7 X 10(-5) M, the mean +/- standard error of the percent dilation of large and small arterioles was, respectively, 47.6 +/- 2.7 and 65.3 +/- 6.1 for G2, 34.1 +/- 2.0, and 53.6 +/- 5.5 for E2, 25.4 +/- 1.8, and 40.2 +/- 4.6 for I2, and 20.3 +/- 2.5 and 11.0 +/- 2.2 for D2. Because brain arterioles are strongly responsive to prostaglandins and the brain can synthesize prostaglandins from its large endogenous pool of prostaglandin precursor, prostaglandins may be important mediators of changes in cerebral blood flow under normal and abnormal conditions.


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