Polyphenols effect on cerebrovascular health

: Polyphenols are a wide group of plant components that include a high number of individual compounds and are present in foods, dietary supplements and drugs. Many of them have shown pharmacological effects, are used in cardiovascular disease prevention, and not as many have been assayed in cancer treatment or co-treatment. In the last few years, however, the research on polyphenols implications in a healthy aging and especially in neurodegeneration and cognition improvement has increased dramatically. Most of the results found in this sense are again related with the capacity of some specific polyphenols to regulate the blood flow, but this time at the cerebral level, and to protect the endothelium at this same level. In this thorough review, we want to concentrate precisely on the effect of polyphenols on the cerebrovascular homeostasis, reviewing the mechanisms that underline this effect and the radiological methods and endogenous biomarkers that are used in human trials aimed at showing the beneficial effect of polyphenols or polyphenols rich foods on neuroprotection and cognition function.

1414Hormone replacement therapy, oral contraceptives and stroke risk

Background Millions of women use exogenous hormones as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or oral contraceptives (OC). Still, time-dependent and long-term consequences of exogenous hormones on cerebrovascular health remains unclear. Methods We examined the effects of HRT and OC usage on stroke risk in 256,661 women from UK Biobank, born between 1939 and 1970. Outcomes included any type of stroke, ischemic stroke (IS), intracerebral hemorrhage (IH), and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SH). Exposures were analyzed as time-dependent variables in Cox regression models. Results are expressed as hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results During first year of exposure, HRT usage was associated with higher hazard rates of any stroke (HR = 2.12[1.66-2.70]), IS (HR = 1.93[1.04-3.56]) and SH (HR = 2.14[1.23-3.72]) compared to non-usage, which remained significant only for any stroke during remaining years of exposure. Similarly, we observed an increased hazard of any stroke during first year of OC exposure (HR = 2.29[1.34-3.92]), while the hazards were found to be comparable during remaining years of use (HR = 1.03[0.92-1.17]). Conversely, women who previously had been exposed to OC, had a lower hazard rate of any stroke later in life, (HR = 0.88[0.82-0.94]). Conclusions Our findings suggest that HRT and OC use cause immediate changes in hemostatic balance, therefore increasing the short-term stroke risk. However, long-term effects of OC use during reproductive years might improve cerebrovascular health and prevent stroke events later in life. Key messages HRT usage increase the risk of stroke, both short-term and with longer use, while the increased stroke risk might be limited to the first year of OC use.

Indexing cerebrovascular health using near-infrared spectroscopy

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NiRS) is a relatively new technology of brain imaging with its potential in the assessment of cerebrovascular health only recently discovered. Encouraging early results suggest that NiRS can be used as an inexpensive and portable cerebrovascular health tracking device using a recently proposed pulse relaxation function (PReFx). In this paper, we propose a new NiRS timing index, $$\text {TI}_{\rm NiRS}$$ TI NiRS , of cerebrovascular health. $$\text {TI}_{\rm NiRS}$$ TI NiRS is a novel use of the NiRS technology. $$\text {TI}_{\rm NiRS}$$ TI NiRS is motivated by the previously proved relationship of the timing of the reflected wave with vascular resistance and compliance in the context of pressure waveforms. We correlated both $$\text {TI}_{\rm NiRS}$$ TI NiRS and PReFx against age, a non-exercise cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) index, and two existing indices of cerebrovascular health, namely transcranial Doppler (TCD) augmentation index, $$\text {AI}_{\rm TCD}$$ AI TCD , and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) blood flow pulsatility index, $$\text {PI}_{\rm MRI}$$ PI MRI . The $$\text {TI}_{\rm NiRS}$$ TI NiRS correlations with Age, CRF, $$\text {PI}_{\rm MRI}$$ PI MRI and $$\text {AI}_{\rm TCD}$$ AI TCD all are significant, i.e., $$r=0.53$$ r = 0.53 ($$p=0.002$$ p = 0.002 ), $$r=-0.44$$ r = - 0.44 ($$p=0.011$$ p = 0.011 ), $$r=0.45$$ r = 0.45 ($$p=0.012$$ p = 0.012 ) and $$r=0.46$$ r = 0.46 ($$p=0.010$$ p = 0.010 ), respectively. PReFx, however, did not have significant correlations with any of the vascular health factors. The proposed timing index is a reliable indicator of cerebrovascular aging factors in the NiRS waveform.

The Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Health in North China From 2006 to 2011: Results From the KaiLuan Study

Background: The American Heart Association (AHA) defined cardiovascular health in terms of four behaviors (smoking, diet, physical activity, body weight) and three factors (plasma glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure). By this definition, the prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and factors is negatively correlated with all-cause mortality and risks of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and malignancy. We analyzed the trends in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health behaviors and factors in the population of the KaiLuan study for 2006–2011, reported the results, and provided evidence for prevention.Methods and Results: We calculated the prevalence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health behaviors and factors from KaiLuan data for 2006–2007, 2008–2009, and 2010–2011. The prevalence of ideal cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health behaviors and factors is low in the KaiLuan population.Conclusions: The prevalence of ideal cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health behaviors and factors is low in the KaiLuan population.Clinical Trial Registration:http://www.chictr.org/cn/proj/show.aspx?proj=1441, unique identifier: ChiCTR-TNC-11001489.

Walking Activities during the Acute Stroke Hospital Stay May Benefit Cerebrovascular Health

Purpose: Physical activity within the hospital post-stroke is recommended for cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health, but no studies have examined cerebrovascular health. We hypothesized individuals who walked farther distances (FARhigh) in the hospital would have a higher resting middle cerebral artery blood velocity (MCAv) and a greater cerebrovascular response (CVR) to moderate-intensity exercise at 3-months post-stroke, compared to individuals who walked shorter distances (FARlow). Methods: At 3-month post-stroke, we recorded 90-seconds of baseline (BL) MCAv followed by 6-minutes of moderate-intensity exercise. We calculated CVR as the change in MCAv from BL to steady-state exercise. We collected farthest distance walked from the electronic medical record. We divided individuals based on average farthest walking distance, (FARhigh or FARlow). Results: Participants (n = 20) were 63 ± 15 years. BL MCAv was not different between groups (p = 0.07). In comparison to FARlow, we report a higher CVR in FARhigh′s ipsilesional (x = 7.38 ± 5.42 vs x = 2.19 ± 3.53, p = 0.02) and contralesional hemisphere (x = 8.15 ± 6.37 vs x = 2.06 ± 4.76, p = 0.04). Conclusions: Physical activity during the hospital stay post-stroke may support cerebrovascular health after discharge. Prospective studies are needed to support this finding.

Indexing Cerebrovascular Health Using Near-infrared Spectroscopy

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NiRS) is a relatively new technology of brain imaging with its potential in the assessment of cerebrovascular health only recently discovered. Encouraging early results suggest that NiRS can be used as an inexpensive and portable cerebrovascular health tracking device using a recently proposed pulse relaxation function (PReFx). In this paper, we propose a new NiRS timing index, TI-NiRS, of cerebrovascular health. TI-NiRS is a novel use of the NiRS technology. TI-NiRS is motivated by the previously proved relationship of the timing of the reflected wave with vascular resistance and compliance in the context of pressure waveforms. We correlated both TI-NiRS and PReFx against age, a non-exercise cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) index, and two existing indices of cerebrovascular health, namely Transcranial Doppler (TCD) augmentation index, AI-TCD, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) blood flow pulsatility index, PI-MRI. The TI-NiRS correlations with Age, CRF, PI-MRI and AI-TCD all are significant, i.e., r = 0.53 (p = 0.002), r = 0.44 (p = 0.011), r = 0.45 (p = 0.012) and r = 0.46 (p = 0.010), respectively. PReFx, however, did not have significant correlations with any of the vascular health factors. The proposed timing index is a reliable indicator of cerebrovascular aging factors in the NiRS waveform.