scholarly journals Transcranial Doppler estimation of cerebral blood flow and cerebrovascular conductance during modified rebreathing

2007 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 870-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jurgen A. H. R. Claassen ◽  
Rong Zhang ◽  
Qi Fu ◽  
Sarah Witkowski ◽  
Benjamin D. Levine

Clinical transcranial Doppler assessment of cerebral vasomotor reactivity (CVMR) uses linear regression of cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) vs. end-tidal CO2 (PetCO2) under steady-state conditions. However, the cerebral blood flow (CBF)-PetCO2 relationship is nonlinear, even for moderate changes in CO2. Moreover, CBF is increased by increases in arterial blood pressure (ABP) during hypercapnia. We used a modified rebreathing protocol to estimate CVMR during transient breath-by-breath changes in CBFV and PetCO2. Ten healthy subjects (6 men) performed 15 s of hyperventilation followed by 5 min of rebreathing, with supplemental O2 to maintain arterial oxygen saturation constant. To minimize effects of changes in ABP on CVMR estimation, cerebrovascular conductance index (CVCi) was calculated. CBFV-PetCO2 and CVCi-PetCO2 relationships were quantified by both linear and nonlinear logistic regression. In three subjects, muscle sympathetic nerve activity was recorded. From hyperventilation to rebreathing, robust changes occurred in PetCO2 (20–61 Torr), CBFV (−44 to +104% of baseline), CVCi (−39 to +64%), and ABP (−19 to +23%) (all P < 0.01). Muscle sympathetic nerve activity increased by 446% during hypercapnia. The linear regression slope of CVCi vs. PetCO2 was less steep than that of CBFV (3 vs. 5%/Torr; P = 0.01). Logistic regression of CBF-PetCO2 ( r2 = 0.97) and CVCi-PetCO2 ( r2 = 0.93) was superior to linear regression ( r2 = 0.91, r2 = 0.85; P = 0.01). CVMR was maximal (6–8%/Torr) for PetCO2 of 40–50 Torr. In conclusion, CBFV and CVCi responses to transient changes in PetCO2 can be described by a nonlinear logistic function, indicating that CVMR estimation varies within the range from hypocapnia to hypercapnia. Furthermore, quantification of the CVCi-PetCO2 relationship may minimize the effects of changes in ABP on the estimation of CVMR. The method developed provides insight into CVMR under transient breath-by-breath changes in CO2.

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (9) ◽  
pp. 1189-1196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nia C. S. Lewis ◽  
Laura Messinger ◽  
Brad Monteleone ◽  
Philip N. Ainslie

We examined 1) whether global cerebral blood flow (CBF) would increase across a 6-h bout of normobaric poikilocapnic hypoxia and be mediated by a larger increase in blood flow in the vertebral artery (VA) than in the internal carotid artery (ICA); and 2) whether additional increases in global CBF would be evident following an α1-adrenergic blockade via further dilation of the ICA and VA. In 11 young normotensive individuals, ultrasound measures of ICA and VA flow were obtained in normoxia (baseline) and following 60, 210, and 330 min of hypoxia (FiO2 = 0.11). Ninety minutes prior to final assessment, participants received an α1-adrenoreceptor blocker (prazosin, 1 mg/20 kg body mass) or placebo. Compared with baseline, following 60, 220, and 330 min of hypoxia, global CBF [(ICAFlow + VAFlow) ∗ 2] increased by 160 ± 52 ml/min (+28%; P = 0.05), 134 ± 23 ml/min (+23%; P = 0.02), and 113 ± 51 (+19%; P = 0.27), respectively. Compared with baseline, ICAFlow increased by 23% following 60 min of hypoxia ( P = 0.06), after which it progressively declined. The percentage increase in VA flow was consistently larger than ICA flow during hypoxia by ∼20% ( P = 0.002). Compared with baseline, ICA and VA diameters increased during hypoxia by ∼9% and ∼12%, respectively ( P ≤ 0.05), and were correlated with reductions in SaO2. Flow and diameters were unaltered following α1 blockade ( P ≥ 0.10). In conclusion, elevations in global CBF during acute hypoxia are partly mediated via greater increases in VA flow compared with ICA flow; this regional difference was unaltered following α1 blockade, indicating that a heightened sympathetic nerve activity with hypoxia does not constrain further dilation of larger extracranial blood vessels.


2005 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 343-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renaud Tamisier ◽  
Amit Anand ◽  
Luz M. Nieto ◽  
David Cunnington ◽  
J. Woodrow Weiss

Sustained and episodic hypoxic exposures lead, by two different mechanisms, to an increase in ventilation after the exposure is terminated. Our aim was to investigate whether the pattern of hypoxia, cyclic or sustained, influences sympathetic activity and hemodynamics in the postexposure period. We measured sympathetic activity (peroneal microneurography), hemodynamics [plethysmographic forearm blood flow (FBF), arterial pressure, heart rate], and peripheral chemosensitivity in normal volunteers on two occasions during and after 2 h of either exposure. By design, mean arterial oxygen saturation was lower during sustained relative to cyclic hypoxia. Baseline to recovery muscle sympathetic nerve activity and blood pressure went from 15.7 ± 1.2 to 22.6 ± 1.9 bursts/min ( P < 0.01) and from 85.6 ± 3.2 to 96.1 ± 3.3 mmHg ( P < 0.05) after sustained hypoxia, respectively, but did not exhibit significant change from 13.6 ± 1.5 to 17.3 ± 2.5 bursts/min and 84.9 ± 2.8 to 89.8 ± 2.5 mmHg after cyclic hypoxia. A significant increase in FBF occurred after sustained, but not cyclic, hypoxia, from 2.3 ± 0.2 to 3.29 ± 0.4 and from 2.2 ± 0.1 to 3.1 ± 0.5 ml·min−1·100 g of tissue−1, respectively. Neither exposure altered the ventilatory response to progressive isocapnic hypoxia. Two hours of sustained hypoxia increased not only muscle sympathetic nerve activity but also arterial blood pressure. In contrast, cyclic hypoxia produced slight but not significant changes in hemodynamics and sympathetic activity. These findings suggest the cardiovascular response to acute hypoxia may depend on the intensity, rather than the pattern, of the hypoxic exposure.


2016 ◽  
Vol 310 (11) ◽  
pp. H1541-H1548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor A. Fernandes ◽  
João D. Mattos ◽  
Monique O. Campos ◽  
Alessandro C. Machado ◽  
Marcos P. Rocha ◽  
...  

Handgrip-induced increases in blood flow through the contralateral artery that supplies the cortical representation of the arm have been hypothesized as a consequence of neurovascular coupling and a resultant metabolic attenuation of sympathetic cerebral vasoconstriction. In contrast, sympathetic restraint, in theory, inhibits changes in perfusion of the cerebral ipsilateral blood vessels. To confirm whether sympathetic nerve activity modulates cerebral blood flow distribution during static handgrip (SHG) exercise, beat-to-beat contra- and ipsilateral internal carotid artery blood flow (ICA; Doppler) and mean arterial pressure (MAP; Finometer) were simultaneously assessed in nine healthy men (27 ± 5 yr), both at rest and during a 2-min SHG bout (30% maximal voluntary contraction), under two experimental conditions: 1) control and 2) α1-adrenergic receptor blockade. End-tidal carbon dioxide (rebreathing system) was clamped throughout the study. SHG induced increases in MAP (+31.4 ± 10.7 mmHg, P < 0.05) and contralateral ICA blood flow (+80.9 ± 62.5 ml/min, P < 0.05), while no changes were observed in the ipsilateral vessel (−9.8 ± 39.3 ml/min, P > 0.05). The reduction in ipsilateral ICA vascular conductance (VC) was greater compared with contralateral ICA (contralateral: −0.8 ± 0.8 vs. ipsilateral: −2.6 ± 1.3 ml·min−1·mmHg−1, P < 0.05). Prazosin was effective to induce α1-blockade since phenylephrine-induced increases in MAP were greatly reduced ( P < 0.05). Under α1-adrenergic receptor blockade, SHG evoked smaller MAP responses (+19.4 ± 9.2, P < 0.05) but similar increases in ICAs blood flow (contralateral: +58.4 ± 21.5 vs. ipsilateral: +54.3 ± 46.2 ml/min, P > 0.05) and decreases in VC (contralateral: −0.4 ± 0.7 vs. ipsilateral: −0.4 ± 1.0 ml·min−1·mmHg−1, P > 0.05). These findings indicate a role of sympathetic nerve activity in the regulation of cerebral blood flow distribution during SHG.


2010 ◽  
Vol 108 (5) ◽  
pp. 1234-1240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raman Moradkhan ◽  
Brett Spitnale ◽  
Patrick McQuillan ◽  
Cynthia Hogeman ◽  
Kristen S. Gray ◽  
...  

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with increased sympathetic nerve activity, endothelial dysfunction, and premature cardiovascular disease. To determine whether hypoxia is associated with impaired skeletal muscle vasodilation, we compared femoral artery blood flow (ultrasound) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (peroneal microneurography) during exposure to acute systemic hypoxia (fraction of inspired oxygen 0.1) in awake patients with OSA ( n = 10) and controls ( n = 8). To assess the role of elevated sympathetic nerve activity, in a separate group of patients with OSA ( n = 10) and controls ( n = 10) we measured brachial artery blood flow during hypoxia before and after regional α-adrenergic block with phentolamine. Despite elevated sympathetic activity, in OSA the vascular responses to hypoxia in the leg did not differ significantly from those in controls [ P = not significant (NS)]. Following regional phentolamine, in both groups the hypoxia-induced increase in brachial blood flow was markedly enhanced (OSA pre vs. post, 84 ± 13 vs. 201 ± 34 ml/min, P < 0.002; controls pre vs. post 62 ± 8 vs. 140 ± 26 ml/min, P < 0.01). At end hypoxia after phentolamine, the increase of brachial blood flow above baseline was similar (OSA vs. controls +61 ± 16 vs. +48 ± 6%; P = NS). We conclude that despite high sympathetic vasoconstrictor tone and prominent sympathetic responses to acute hypoxia, hypoxia-induced limb vasodilation is preserved in OSA.


2004 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 635-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rami N. Khayat ◽  
Tadeusz Przybylowski ◽  
Keith C. Meyer ◽  
James B. Skatrud ◽  
Barbara J. Morgan

We reasoned that, if the lung inflation reflex contributes importantly to apnea-induced sympathetic activation, such activation would be attenuated in bilateral lung transplant recipients (LTX). We measured muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA; intraneural electrodes), heart rate, mean arterial pressure, tidal volume, end-tidal Pco2, and arterial oxygen saturation in seven LTX and seven healthy control subjects (Con) before, during, and after 20-s end-expiratory breath holds. Our evidence for denervation in LTX was 1) greatly attenuated respiratory sinus arrhythmia and 2) absence of cough reflex below the level of the carina. During apnea, the temporal pattern and the peak increase in MSNA were virtually identical in LTX and Con (347 ± 99 and 359 ± 46% of baseline, respectively; P > 0.05). In contrast, the amount of MSNA present in the first 5 s after resumption of breathing was greater in LTX vs. Con (101 ± 4 vs. 38 ± 7% of baseline, respectively; P < 0.05). There were no between-group differences in apnea-induced hypoxemia or hypercapnia, hemodynamic, or ventilatory responses. Thus cessation of the rhythmic sympathoinhibitory feedback that normally accompanies eupneic breathing does not contribute importantly to sympathetic excitation during apnea. In contrast, vagal afferent input elicited by hyperventilation-induced lung stretch plays an important role in the profound, rapid sympathetic inhibition that occurs after resumption of breathing after apnea.


2005 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 787-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivani C. Trombetta ◽  
Luciana T. Batalha ◽  
Maria U. P. B. Rondon ◽  
Mateus C. Laterza ◽  
Eliana Frazzatto ◽  
...  

We hypothesized that the muscle vasodilatation during mental stress and exercise would vary among humans who are polymorphic at alleles 16 and 27 of the β2-adrenoceptors. From 216 preselected volunteers, we studied 64 healthy, middle-aged normotensive women selected to represent three genotypes: homozygous for the alleles Arg16 and Gln27 (Arg16/Gln27, n = 34), Gly16 and Gln27 (Gly16/Gln27, n = 20), and Gly16 and Glu27 (Gly16/Glu27, n = 10). Forearm blood flow (plethysmography) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (microneurography) were recorded during 3-min Stroop color-word test and 3-min handgrip isometric exercise (30% maximal voluntary contraction). Baseline muscle sympathetic nerve activity, forearm vascular conductance, mean blood pressure, and heart rate were not different among groups. During mental stress, the peak forearm vascular conductance responses were greater in Gly16/Glu27 group than in Gly16/Gln27 and Arg16/Gln27 groups (1.79 ± 0.66 vs. 0.70 ± 0.11 and 0.58 ± 0.12 units, P = 0.03). Similar results were found during exercise (0.80 ± 0.25 vs. 0.28 ± 0.08 and 0.31 ± 0.08 units, P = 0.02). Further analysis in a subset of subjects showed that brachial intra-arterial propranolol infusion abolished the difference in vasodilatory response between Gly16/Glu27 ( n = 6) and Arg16/Gln27 ( n = 7) groups during mental stress (0.33 ± 0.20 vs. 0.46 ± 0.21 units, P = 0.50) and exercise (0.08 ± 0.06 vs. 0.03 ± 0.03 units, P = 0.21). Plasma epinephrine concentration in Arg16/Gln27 and Gly16/Glu27 groups was similar. In conclusion, women who are homozygous for Gly16/Glu27 of the β2-adrenoceptors have augmented muscle vasodilatory responsiveness to mental stress and exercise.


2007 ◽  
Vol 112 (6) ◽  
pp. 353-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Hogarth ◽  
Alan F. Mackintosh ◽  
David A. S. G. Mary

The risk of cardiovascular disease has been linked to sympathetic activation and its incidence is known to be lower in women than in men. However, the effect of gender on the sympathetic vasoconstrictor drive has not yet been established. In the present study, we investigated whether there is a gender difference in MSNA (muscle sympathetic nerve activity) and blood flow, and to determine the mechanisms involved. We examined 68 normal subjects, 34 women and 34 men, matched for age, BMI (body mass index) and waist circumference. MSNA was measured as the mean frequency of single units (s-MSNA) and as multi-unit bursts (m-MSNA) from the peroneal nerve simultaneously with its supplied muscle CBF (calf blood flow). Women had lower (P=0.0007) s-MSNA (24±2.0 impulses/100 cardiac beats) than men (34±2.3 impulses/100 cardiac beats), and a greater baroreceptor reflex sensitivity controlling efferent sympathetic nerve activity than men. The sympathetic activity was inversely and directly correlated respectively, with CBF (P=0.03) and CVR (calf vascular resistance; P=0.01) in men only. The responses of an increase in CVR to cold pressor and isometric handgrip tests were significantly smaller in women (P=0.002) than in men, despite similar increases in efferent sympathetic nerve activity. Women had a lower central sympathetic neural output to the periphery, the mechanism of which involved differences in central and reflex control, as well as a lower vasoconstrictor response to this neural output. It is suggested that this may partly explain the observed lower incidence of cardiovascular events in women compared with men.


2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (5) ◽  
pp. R1439-R1444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan S. Cook ◽  
Chester A. Ray

Previous studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that altering muscle temperature of the exercising forearm can elicit changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) during ischemic isometric handgrip. The purpose of the current study was to determine the interactive effect of muscle temperature and blood flow on MSNA responses during dynamic handgrip (DHG). Eight subjects performed two bouts of graded DHG to fatigue followed by 2 min of postexercise muscle ischemia (PEMI). Local heating of the forearm increased muscle temperature from 33.6 ± 0.3 to 38.3 ± 0.5°C ( P < 0.05). Mean arterial pressure and heart rate increased in a linear fashion during graded DHG ( P < 0.05) but were not affected by muscle temperature. MSNA (burst frequency and total activity) at fatigue and PEMI were elevated in all conditions ( P < 0.05). However, MSNA responses were not different between temperature conditions. To ascertain the effect of blood flow, eight additional subjects completed two trials of ischemic DHG under control or warm conditions followed by 2 min of PEMI. MSNA, expressed as burst frequency and total activity, was significantly greater in warm compared with the control trial (Δ14 ± 3 and Δ9 ± 2 bursts/30 s, and Δ1,234 ± 260 and Δ751 ± 199 units/30 s, respectively). This finding supports the concept that muscle heating sensitizes skeletal muscle afferents during muscle contractions and augments MSNA in humans. However, on the basis of these findings, we conclude that muscle blood flow modulates the effect of muscle temperature on MSNA during exercise.


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