Cerebrovascular Reactivity to Carbon Dioxide in Alzheimer's Disease

Article type: Review Article

Authors: Glodzik, Lidia^{a; b; *} | Randall, Catherine^a | Rusinek, Henry^b | de Leon, Mony J.^a

Affiliations: [a] Center for Brain Health, Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA | [b] Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Lidia Glodzik, Center for Brain Health, Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, 145 East 32nd Street, 5^th Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA. Tel.: +1 212 263 5698; Fax: +1 212 263 3270; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: There is growing evidence that cerebrovascular reactivity to carbon dioxide (CVRCO2) is impaired in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Preclinical and animal studies suggest chronic hypercontractility in brain vessels in AD. We review (a) preclinical studies of mechanisms for impaired CVRCO2 in AD; (b) clinical studies of cerebrovascular function in subjects with AD dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and normal cognition. Although results of clinical studies are inconclusive, an increasing number of reports reveal an impairment of vascular reactivity to carbon dioxide in subjects with AD, and possibly also in MCI. Thus, CVRCO2 may be an attractive means to detect an early vascular dysfunction in subjects at risk.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, carbon dioxide, cognitive impairment, vascular, vasoreactivity

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-122011

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 427-440, 2013