Respiratory challenge MRI: Practical aspects

High inspired CO2 target accuracy in mechanical ventilation and spontaneous breathing using the Additional CO2 method

Introduction

Cerebrovascular reactivity imaging (CVR) is a diagnostic method for assessment of alterations in cerebral blood flow in response to a controlled vascular stimulus. The principal utility is the capacity to evaluate the cerebrovascular reserve, thereby elucidating autoregulatory functioning. In CVR, CO2 gas challenge is the most prevalent method, which elicits a vascular response by alterations in inspired CO2 concentrations. While several systems have been proposed in the literature, only a limited number have been devised to operate in tandem with mechanical ventilation, thus constraining the majority CVR investigations to spontaneously breathing individuals.

Methods

We have developed a new method, denoted Additional CO2, designed to enable CO2 challenge in ventilators. The central idea is the introduction of an additional flow of highly concentrated CO2 into the respiratory circuit, as opposed to administration of the entire gas mixture from a reservoir. By monitoring the main respiratory gas flow emanating from the ventilator, the CO2 concentration in the inspired gas can be manipulated by adjusting the proportion of additional CO2. We evaluated the efficacy of this approach in (1) a ventilator coupled with a test lung and (2) in spontaneously breathing healthy subjects. The method was evaluated by assessment of the precision in attaining target inspired CO2 levels and examination of its performance within a magnetic resonance imaging environment.

Results and discussion

Our investigations revealed that the Additional CO2 method consistently achieved a high degree of accuracy in reaching target inspired CO2 levels in both mechanical ventilation and spontaneous breathing. We anticipate that these findings will lay the groundwork for a broader implementation of CVR assessments in mechanically ventilated patients.

The future of CMR: All-in-one vs. real-time CMR (Part 2)

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) protocols can be lengthy and complex, which has driven the research community to develop new technologies to make these protocols more efficient and patient-friendly. Two different approaches to improving CMR have been proposed, specifically "all-in-one" CMR, where several contrasts and/or motion states are acquired simultaneously, and "real-time" CMR, in which the examination is accelerated to avoid the need for breathholding and/or cardiac gating. The goal of this two-part manuscript is to describe these two different types of emerging rapid CMR protocols. To this end, the vision of all-in-one and real-time imaging are described, along with techniques which have been devised and tested along the pathway of clinical implementation. The pros and cons of the different methods are presented, and the remaining open needs of each are detailed. Part 1 tackles the "All-in-One" approaches, and Part 2 focuses on the "Real-Time" approaches along with an overall summary of these emerging methods.

Breath-hold BOLD fMRI without CO2 sampling enables estimation of venous cerebral blood volume: potential use in normalization of stimulus-evoked BOLD fMRI data

BOLD fMRI signal has been used in conjunction with vasodilatory stimulation as a marker of cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR): the relative change in cerebral blood flow (CBF) arising from a unit change in the vasodilatory stimulus. Using numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the variability in the relative BOLD signal change induced by vasodilation is strongly influenced by the variability in deoxyhemoglobin-containing cerebral blood volume (CBV), as this source of variability is likely to be more prominent than that of CVR. It may, therefore, be more appropriate to describe the relative BOLD signal change induced by an isometabolic vasodilation as a proxy of deoxygenated CBV (CBVdHb) rather than CVR. With this in mind, a new method was implemented to map a marker of CBVdHb, termed BOLD-CBV, based on the normalization of voxel-wise BOLD signal variation by an estimate of the intravascular venous BOLD signal from voxels filled with venous blood. The intravascular venous BOLD signal variation, recorded during repeated breath-holding, was extracted from the superior sagittal sinus in a cohort of 27 healthy volunteers and used as a regressor across the whole brain, yielding maps of BOLD-CBV. In the same cohort, we demonstrated the potential use of BOLD-CBV for the normalization of stimulus-evoked BOLD fMRI by comparing group-level BOLD fMRI responses to a visuomotor learning task with and without the inclusion of voxel-wise vascular covariates of BOLD-CBV and the BOLD signal change per mmHg variation in end-tidal carbon dioxide (BOLD-CVR). The empirical measure of BOLD-CBV accounted for more between-subject variability in the motor task-induced BOLD responses than BOLD-CVR estimated from end-tidal carbon dioxide recordings. The new method can potentially increase the power of group fMRI studies by including a measure of vascular characteristics and has the strong practical advantage of not requiring experimental measurement of end-tidal carbon dioxide, unlike traditional methods to estimate BOLD-CVR. It also more closely represents a specific physiological characteristic of brain vasculature than BOLD-CVR, namely blood volume.

Blood-pool MRI assessment of myocardial microvascular reactivity

Purpose

The ability to non-invasively image myocardial microvascular dilation and constriction is essential to assessing intact function and dysfunction. Yet, conventional measurements based on blood oxygenation are not specific to changes in blood volume. The purpose of this study was to extend to the heart a blood-pool MRI approach for assessing vasomodulation in the presence of blood gas changes and investigate if sex-related differences exist.

Methods

Animals [five male and five female healthy Sprague Dawley rats (200-500 g)] were intubated, ventilated, and cycled through room air (normoxia) and hypercapnia (10% CO2) in 10-minute cycles after i.v. injection of blood-pool agent Ablavar (0.3 mmol/kg). Pre-contrast T1 maps and T1-weighted 3D CINE were acquired on a 3 Tesla preclinical MRI scanner, followed by repeated 3D CINE every 5 min until the end of the gas regime. Invasive laser Doppler flowmetry of myocardial perfusion was performed to corroborate MRI results.

Results

Myocardial microvascular dilation to hypercapnia and constriction to normoxia were readily visualized on T1 maps. Over 10 min of hypercapnia, female myocardial T1 reduced by 20% (vasodilation), while no significant change was observed in the male myocardium. After return to normoxia, myocardial T1 increased (vasoconstriction) in both sexes (18% in females and 16% in males). Laser Doppler perfusion measurements confirmed vasomodulatory responses observed on MRI.

Conclusion

Blood-pool MRI is sensitive and specific to vasomodulation in the myocardial microcirculation. Sex-related differences exist in the healthy myocardium in response to mild hypercapnic stimuli.

Detection and Mitigation of Neurovascular Uncoupling in Brain Gliomas

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) technique is useful for preoperative mapping of brain functional networks in tumor patients, providing reliable in vivo detection of eloquent cortex to help reduce the risk of postsurgical morbidity. BOLD task-based fMRI (tb-fMRI) is the most often used noninvasive method that can reliably map cortical networks, including those associated with sensorimotor, language, and visual functions. BOLD resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) is emerging as a promising ancillary tool for visualization of diverse functional networks. Although fMRI is a powerful tool that can be used as an adjunct for brain tumor surgery planning, it has some constraints that should be taken into consideration for proper clinical interpretation. BOLD fMRI interpretation may be limited by neurovascular uncoupling (NVU) induced by brain tumors. Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) mapping obtained using breath-hold methods is an effective method for evaluating NVU potential.

Modelling spatiotemporal dynamics of cerebral blood flow using multiple-timepoint arterial spin labelling MRI

Introduction: Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is an important physiological parameter that can be quantified non-invasively using arterial spin labelling (ASL) imaging. Although most ASL studies are based on single-timepoint strategies, multi-timepoint approaches (multiple-PLD) in combination with appropriate model fitting strategies may be beneficial not only to improve CBF quantification but also to retrieve other physiological information of interest. Methods: In this work, we tested several kinetic models for the fitting of multiple-PLD pCASL data in a group of 10 healthy subjects. In particular, we extended the standard kinetic model by incorporating dispersion effects and the macrovascular contribution and assessed their individual and combined effect on CBF quantification. These assessments were performed using two pseudo-continuous ASL (pCASL) datasets acquired in the same subjects but during two conditions mimicking different CBF dynamics: normocapnia and hypercapnia (achieved through a CO₂ stimulus). Results: All kinetic models quantified and highlighted the different CBF spatiotemporal dynamics between the two conditions. Hypercapnia led to an increase in CBF whilst decreasing arterial transit time (ATT) and arterial blood volume (aBV). When comparing the different kinetic models, the incorporation of dispersion effects yielded a significant decrease in CBF (∼10-22%) and ATT (∼17-26%), whilst aBV (∼44-74%) increased, and this was observed in both conditions. The extended model that includes dispersion effects and the macrovascular component has been shown to provide the best fit to both datasets. Conclusion: Our results support the use of extended models that include the macrovascular component and dispersion effects when modelling multiple-PLD pCASL data.

Tale of Two Cities: narrative review of oxygen

The human brain contributes 2% of the body weight yet receives 15% of cardiac output and demands a constant supply of oxygen (O ₂) and nutrients to meet its metabolic needs. Cerebral autoregulation is responsible for maintaining a constant cerebral blood flow that provides the supply of oxygen and maintains the energy storage capacity. We selected oxygen administration-related studies published between 1975-2021 that included meta-analysis, original research, commentaries, editorial, and review articles. In the present narrative review, several important aspects of the oxygen effects on brain tissues and cerebral autoregulation are discussed, as well the role of exogenous O ₂ administration in patients with chronic ischemic cerebrovascular disease: We aimed to revisit the utility of O ₂ administration in pathophysiological situations whether or not being advantageous. Indeed, a compelling clinical and experimental body of evidence questions the utility of routine oxygen administration in acute and post-recovery brain ischemia, as evident by studies in neurophysiology imaging. While O ₂ is still part of common clinical practice, it remains unclear whether its routine use is safe.

Agreement in cerebrovascular reactivity assessed with diffuse correlation spectroscopy across experimental paradigms improves with short separation regression

Significance

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), i.e., the ability of cerebral vasculature to dilate or constrict in response to vasoactive stimuli, is a biomarker of vascular health. Exogenous administration of inhaled carbon dioxide, i.e., hypercapnia (HC), remains the "gold-standard" intervention to assess CVR. More tolerable paradigms that enable CVR quantification when HC is difficult/contraindicated have been proposed. However, because these paradigms feature mechanistic differences in action, an assessment of agreement of these more tolerable paradigms to HC is needed.

Aim

We aim to determine the agreement of CVR assessed during HC, breath-hold (BH), and resting state (RS) paradigms.

Approach

Healthy adults were subject to HC, BH, and RS paradigms. End tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) and cerebral blood flow (CBF, assessed with diffuse correlation spectroscopy) were monitored continuously. CVR (%/mmHg) was quantified via linear regression of CBF versus EtCO2 or via a general linear model (GLM) that was used to minimize the influence of systemic and extracerebral signal contributions.

Results

Strong agreement ( CCC ≥ 0.69 ; R ≥ 0.76 ) among CVR paradigms was demonstrated when utilizing a GLM to regress out systemic/extracerebral signal contributions. Linear regression alone showed poor agreement across paradigms ( CCC ≤ 0.35 ; R ≤ 0.45 ).

Conclusions

More tolerable experimental paradigms coupled with regression of systemic/extracerebral signal contributions may offer a viable alternative to HC for assessing CVR.

Using carpet plots to analyze blood transit times in the brain during hypercapnic challenge magnetic resonance imaging

Blood arrival time and blood transit time are useful metrics in characterizing hemodynamic behaviors in the brain. Functional magnetic resonance imaging in combination with a hypercapnic challenge has been proposed as a non-invasive imaging tool to determine blood arrival time and replace dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) magnetic resonance imaging, a current gold-standard imaging tool with the downsides of invasiveness and limited repeatability. Using a hypercapnic challenge, blood arrival times can be computed by cross-correlating the administered CO₂ signal with the fMRI signal, which increases during elevated CO₂ due to vasodilation. However, whole-brain transit times derived from this method can be significantly longer than the known cerebral transit time for healthy subjects (nearing 20 s vs. the expected 5-6 s). To address this unrealistic measurement, we here propose a novel carpet plot-based method to compute improved blood transit times derived from hypercapnic blood oxygen level dependent fMRI, demonstrating that the method reduces estimated blood transit times to an average of 5.32 s. We also investigate the use of hypercapnic fMRI with cross-correlation to compute the venous blood arrival times in healthy subjects and compare the computed delay maps with DSC-MRI time to peak maps using the structural similarity index measure (SSIM). The strongest delay differences between the two methods, indicated by low structural similarity index measure, were found in areas of deep white matter and the periventricular region. SSIM measures throughout the remainder of the brain reflected a similar arrival sequence derived from the two methods despite the exaggerated spread of voxel delays computed using CO₂ fMRI.

fMRI studies evaluating central respiratory control in humans

A plethora of neural centers in the central nervous system control the fundamental respiratory pattern. This control is ensured by neurons that act as pacemakers, modulating activity through chemical control driven by changes in the O₂/CO₂ balance. Most of the respiratory neural centers are located in the brainstem, but difficult to localize on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) due to their small size, lack of visually-detectable borders with neighboring areas, and significant physiological noise hampering detection of its activity with functional MRI (fMRI). Yet, several approaches make it possible to study the normal response to different abnormal stimuli or conditions such as CO₂ inhalation, induced hypercapnia, volitional apnea, induced hypoxia etc. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the majority of available studies on central respiratory control in humans.

Imaging effective oxygen diffusivity in the human brain with multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging

Cerebrovascular diseases can impair blood circulation and oxygen extraction from the blood. The effective oxygen diffusivity (EOD) of the capillary bed is a potential biomarker of microvascular function that has gained increasing interest, both for clinical diagnosis and for elucidating oxygen transport mechanisms. Models of capillary oxygen transport link EOD to measurable oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) and cerebral blood flow (CBF). In this work, we confirm that two well established mathematical models of oxygen transport yield nearly equivalent EOD maps. Furthermore, we propose an easy-to-implement and clinically applicable multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol for quantitative EOD mapping. Our approach is based on imaging OEF and CBF with multiparametric quantitative blood oxygenation level dependent (mq-BOLD) MRI and pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL), respectively. We evaluated the imaging protocol by comparing MRI-EOD maps of 12 young healthy volunteers to PET data from a published study in different individuals. Our results show comparably good correlation between MRI- and PET-derived cortical EOD, OEF and CBF. Importantly, absolute values of MRI and PET showed high accordance for all three parameters. In conclusion, our data indicates feasibility of the proposed MRI protocol for EOD mapping, rendering the method promising for future clinical evaluation of patients with cerebrovascular diseases.

Feasibility of glioblastoma tissue response mapping with physiologic BOLD imaging using precise oxygen and carbon dioxide challenge

OBJECTIVES

Innovative physiologic MRI development focuses on depiction of heterogenous vascular and metabolic features in glioblastoma. For this feasibility study, we employed blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) MRI with standardized and precise carbon dioxide (CO₂) and oxygen (O₂) modulation to investigate specific tumor tissue response patterns in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Seven newly diagnosed untreated patients with suspected glioblastoma were prospectively included to undergo a BOLD study with combined CO₂ and O₂ standardized protocol. %BOLD signal change/mmHg during hypercapnic, hypoxic, and hyperoxic stimulus was calculated in the whole brain, tumor lesion and segmented volumes of interest (VOI) [contrast-enhancing (CE) - tumor, necrosis and edema] to analyze their tissue response patterns.

RESULTS

Quantification of BOLD signal change after gas challenges can be used to identify specific responses to standardized stimuli in glioblastoma patients. Integration of this approach with automatic VOI segmentation grants improved characterization of tumor subzones and edema. Magnitude of BOLD signal change during the 3 stimuli can be visualized at voxel precision through color-coded maps overlayed onto whole brain and identified VOIs.

CONCLUSIONS

Our preliminary investigation shows good feasibility of BOLD with standardized and precise CO₂ and O₂ modulation as an emerging physiologic imaging technique to detail specific glioblastoma characteristics. The unique tissue response patterns generated can be further investigated to better detail glioblastoma lesions and gauge treatment response.

Quantitative myocardial first-pass perfusion imaging of CO2 -induced vasodilation in rats

Inducible hypercapnia is an alternative for increasing the coronary blood flow necessary to facilitate the quantification of myocardial blood flow during hyperemia. The current study aimed to quantify the pharmacokinetic effect of a CO₂ gas challenge on myocardial perfusion in rats using high-resolution, first-pass perfusion CMR and compared it with pharmacologically induced hyperemia using regadenoson. A dual-contrast, saturation-recovery, gradient-echo sequence with a Cartesian readout was used on a small-animal 9.4-T scanner; additional cine images during hyperemia/rest were recorded with an ultrashort echo time sequence. The mean myocardial blood flow value at rest was 6.1 ± 1.4 versus 13.9 ± 3.7 and 14.3 ± 4 mL/g/min during vasodilation with hypercapnia and regadenoson, respectively. Accordingly, the myocardial flow reserve value was 2.6 ± 1.1 for the gas challenge and 2.5 ± 1.4 for regadenoson. During hyperemia with both protocols, a significantly increased cardiac output was found. It was concluded that hypercapnia leads to significantly increased coronary flow and yields similar myocardial flow reserves in healthy rats as compared with pharmacological stimulation. Accordingly, inducible hypercapnia can be selected as an alternative stressor in CMR studies of myocardial blood flow in small animals.

The Potential of Oxygenation-Sensitive CMR in Heart Failure

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) use in the context of heart failure (HF) has increased over the last decade as it is able to provide detailed, quantitative information on function, morphology, and myocardial tissue composition. Furthermore, oxygenation-sensitive CMR (OS-CMR) has emerged as a CMR imaging method capable of monitoring changes of myocardial oxygenation without the use of exogenous contrast agents.

RECENT FINDINGS

The contributions of OS-CMR to the investigation of patients with HF includes not only a fully quantitative assessment of cardiac morphology, function, and tissue characteristics, but also high-resolution information on both endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vascular function as assessed through changes of myocardial oxygenation. In patients with heart failure, OS-CMR can provide deep phenotyping on the status and important associated pathophysiology as a one-stop, needle-free diagnostic imaging test.

Normal BOLD Response to a Step CO2 Stimulus After Correction for Partial Volume Averaging

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) is defined as the change in cerebral blood flow induced by a change in a vasoactive stimulus. CVR using BOLD MRI in combination with changes in end-tidal CO₂ is a very useful method for assessing vascular performance. In recent years, this technique has benefited from an advanced gas delivery method where end-tidal CO₂ can be targeted, measured very precisely, and validated against arterial blood gas sampling (Ito et al., 2008). This has enabled more precise comparison of an individual patient against a normative atlas of healthy subjects. However, expected control ranges for CVR metrics have not been reported in the literature. In this work, we calculate and report the range of control values for the magnitude (mCVR), the steady state amplitude (ssCVR), and the speed (TAU) of the BOLD response to a standard step stimulus, as well as the time delay (TD) as observed in a cohort of 45 healthy controls. These CVR metrics maps were corrected for partial volume averaging for brain tissue types using a linear regression method to enable more accurate quantitation of CVR metrics. In brief, this method uses adjacent voxel CVR metrics in combination with their tissue composition to write the corresponding set of linear equations for estimating CVR metrics of gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). After partial volume correction, mCVR and ssCVR increase as expected in gray matter, respectively, by 25 and 19%, and decrease as expected in white matter by 33 and 13%. In contrast, TAU and TD decrease in gray matter by 33 and 13%. TAU increase in white matter by 24%, but TD surprisingly decreased by 9%. This correction enables more accurate voxel-wise tissue composition providing greater precision when reporting gray and white matter CVR values.

Study Protocol: The Heart and Brain Study

BACKGROUND

It is well-established that what is good for the heart is good for the brain. Vascular factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol, and genetic factors such as the apolipoprotein E4 allele increase the risk of developing both cardiovascular disease and dementia. However, the mechanisms underlying the heart-brain association remain unclear. Recent evidence suggests that impairments in vascular phenotypes and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) may play an important role in cognitive decline. The Heart and Brain Study combines state-of-the-art vascular ultrasound, cerebrovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cognitive testing in participants of the long-running Whitehall II Imaging cohort to examine these processes together. This paper describes the study protocol, data pre-processing and overarching objectives.

METHODS AND DESIGN

The 775 participants of the Whitehall II Imaging cohort, aged 65 years or older in 2019, have received clinical and vascular risk assessments at 5-year-intervals since 1985, as well as a 3T brain MRI scan and neuropsychological tests between 2012 and 2016 (Whitehall II Wave MRI-1). Approximately 25% of this cohort are selected for the Heart and Brain Study, which involves a single testing session at the University of Oxford (Wave MRI-2). Between 2019 and 2023, participants will undergo ultrasound scans of the ascending aorta and common carotid arteries, measures of central and peripheral blood pressure, and 3T MRI scans to measure CVR in response to 5% carbon dioxide in air, vessel-selective cerebral blood flow (CBF), and cerebrovascular lesions. The structural and diffusion MRI scans and neuropsychological battery conducted at Wave MRI-1 will also be repeated. Using this extensive life-course data, the Heart and Brain Study will examine how 30-year trajectories of vascular risk throughout midlife (40-70 years) affect vascular phenotypes, cerebrovascular health, longitudinal brain atrophy and cognitive decline at older ages.

DISCUSSION

The study will generate one of the most comprehensive datasets to examine the longitudinal determinants of the heart-brain association. It will evaluate novel physiological processes in order to describe the optimal window for managing vascular risk in order to delay cognitive decline. Ultimately, the Heart and Brain Study will inform strategies to identify at-risk individuals for targeted interventions to prevent or delay dementia.

Cerebrovascular Reactivity Measurement Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Systematic Review

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probes cerebral haemodynamic changes in response to a vasodilatory stimulus. CVR closely relates to the health of the vasculature and is therefore a key parameter for studying cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke, small vessel disease and dementias. MRI allows in vivo measurement of CVR but several different methods have been presented in the literature, differing in pulse sequence, hardware requirements, stimulus and image processing technique. We systematically reviewed publications measuring CVR using MRI up to June 2020, identifying 235 relevant papers. We summarised the acquisition methods, experimental parameters, hardware and CVR quantification approaches used, clinical populations investigated, and corresponding summary CVR measures. CVR was investigated in many pathologies such as steno-occlusive diseases, dementia and small vessel disease and is generally lower in patients than in healthy controls. Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) acquisitions with fixed inspired CO₂ gas or end-tidal CO₂ forcing stimulus are the most commonly used methods. General linear modelling of the MRI signal with end-tidal CO₂ as the regressor is the most frequently used method to compute CVR. Our survey of CVR measurement approaches and applications will help researchers to identify good practice and provide objective information to inform the development of future consensus recommendations.

Breath-Hold Induced Cerebrovascular Reactivity Measurements Using Optimized Pseudocontinuous Arterial Spin Labeling

A pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (PCASL) sequence combined with background suppression and single-shot accelerated 3D RARE stack-of-spirals was used to evaluate cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) induced by breath-holding (BH) in ten healthy volunteers. Four different models designed using the measured change in PETCO2 induced by BH were compared, for CVR quantification. The objective of this comparison was to understand which regressor offered a better physiological model to characterize the cerebral blood flow response under BH. The BH task started with free breathing of 42 s, followed by interleaved end-expiration BHs of 21 s, for ten cycles. The total scan time was 12 min and 20 s. The accelerated readout allowed the acquisition of PCASL data with better temporal resolution than previously used, without compromising the post-labeling delay. Elevated CBF was observed in most cerebral regions under hypercapnia, which was delayed with respect to the BH challenge. Significant statistical differences in CVR were obtained between the different models in GM (p < 0.0001), with ramp models yielding higher values than boxcar models and between the two tissues, GM and WM, with higher values in GM, in all the models (p < 0.0001). The adjustment of the ramp amplitude during each BH cycle did not improve the results compared with a ramp model with a constant amplitude equal to the mean PETCO2 change during the experiment.

Cerebrovascular Reactivity Mapping Without Gas Challenges: A Methodological Guide

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) is defined as the ability of vessels to alter their caliber in response to vasoactive factors, by means of dilating or constricting, in order to increase or decrease regional cerebral blood flow (CBF). Importantly, CVR may provide a sensitive biomarker for pathologies where vasculature is compromised. Furthermore, the spatiotemporal dynamics of CVR observed in healthy subjects, reflecting regional differences in cerebral vascular tone and response, may also be important in functional MRI studies based on neurovascular coupling mechanisms. Assessment of CVR is usually based on the use of a vasoactive stimulus combined with a CBF measurement technique. Although transcranial Doppler ultrasound has been frequently used to obtain global flow velocity measurements, MRI techniques are being increasingly employed for obtaining CBF maps. For the vasoactive stimulus, vasodilatory hypercapnia is usually induced through the manipulation of respiratory gases, including the inhalation of increased concentrations of carbon dioxide. However, most of these methods require an additional apparatus and complex setups, which not only may not be well-tolerated by some populations but are also not widely available. For these reasons, strategies based on voluntary breathing fluctuations without the need for external gas challenges have been proposed. These include the task-based methodologies of breath holding and paced deep breathing, as well as a new generation of methods based on spontaneous breathing fluctuations during resting-state. Despite the multitude of alternatives to gas challenges, existing literature lacks definitive conclusions regarding the best practices for the vasoactive modulation and associated analysis protocols. In this work, we perform an extensive review of CVR mapping techniques based on MRI and CO2 variations without gas challenges, focusing on the methodological aspects of the breathing protocols and corresponding data analysis. Finally, we outline a set of practical guidelines based on generally accepted practices and available data, extending previous reports and encouraging the wider application of CVR mapping methodologies in both clinical and academic MRI settings.

The Problem of Neurovascular Uncoupling

Neurovascular uncoupling (NVU) is one of the most important confounds of blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMR imaging) in the setting of focal brain lesions such as brain tumors. This article reviews the assessment of NVU related to focal brain lesions with emphasis on the use of cerebrovascular reactivity mapping measurement methods and resting state BOLD fMR imaging metrics in the detection of NVU, as well as the use of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation metrics to mitigate the effects of NVU on clinical fMR imaging activation.

Brain imaging factors associated with progression of subcortical hyperintensities in CADASIL over 2-year follow-up

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Mutations in the NOTCH3 gene cause cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), a cerebral small vessel disease manifesting with stroke, migraine and dementia in adults. The disease displays significant phenotypic variability that is incompletely explained. Early abnormalities in vascular function have been shown in animal models. We postulated that studying changes in vascular function may offer insights into disease progression.

METHODS

Twenty-two subjects with CADASIL [50% female, 50 (±11) years] from 19 pedigrees were included in a longitudinal multimodality study using brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), clinical measures, neuropsychology and measures of peripheral vascular function. MRI studies included measurement of structural brain changes, cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reactivity by arterial spin labelling and a CO₂ respiratory challenge.

RESULTS

Over 2 years, new stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) occurred in five (23%) subjects and new significant disability in one (5%). There were significant increases in number of lacunes, subcortical hyperintensity volume and microbleeds, and a decrease in brain volume. CBF declined by 3.2 (±4.5) ml/100 g/min over 2 years. CBF and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity at baseline predicted change in subcortical hyperintensity volume at follow-up. Carotid intima-media thickness and age predicted brain atrophy. Baseline CBF was lower in subjects who showed a decline in attention and working memory.

CONCLUSIONS

Cerebral blood flow predicts radiological progression of hyperintensities and thus is a potential biomarker of disease progression in CADASIL. Over 2 years, there were changes in several relevant imaging biomarkers (CBF, brain volume, lacunes, microbleeds and hyperintensity volume). Future studies in CADASIL should consider assessment of CBF as prognostic factor.

Short- and long-term reproducibility of BOLD signal change induced by breath-holding at 1.5 and 3 T

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) can give insight into the cerebrovascular function. CVR can be estimated by measuring a blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) response combined with breath-holding (BH). The reproducibility of this technique has been addressed and existing studies have focused on short-term reproducibility using a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. However, little is known about the long-term reproducibility of this procedure and the corresponding reproducibility using a 1.5 T MRI system. Here, we systematically examined the short- and long-term reproducibility of BOLD responses to BH across field strengths. Nine subjects participated in three MRI sessions separated by 30 minutes (sessions 1 and 2: short term) and 68-92 days (sessions 1 and 3, long term) at both 1.5 and 3 T MRI. Our findings revealed that significant differences between field strengths were detected in the activated gray matter volume and BOLD signal change (both P < 0.001), with smaller magnitudes at 1.5 T. However, activation patterns were reproducible, independent of the time interval, brain region or field strength. All interscan coefficient of variation values were below the 33% fiducial limit, and the intraclass correlation coefficient values were above 0.4, which is usually considered the acceptability limit in functional studies. These findings suggest that the response of BOLD signal to BH for assessing CVR is reproducible over time at 1.5 and 3 T. This technique can be considered a tool for monitoring longitudinal changes in patients with cerebrovascular diseases, and its use should be encouraged for clinical 1.5 T MRI systems.

Cortical laminar resting-state signal fluctuations scale with the hypercapnic blood oxygenation level-dependent response

Calibrated functional magnetic resonance imaging can remove unwanted sources of signal variability in the blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) response. This is achieved by scaling, using information from a perfusion‐sensitive scan during a purely vascular challenge, typically induced by a gas manipulation or a breath‐hold task. In this work, we seek for a validation of the use of the resting‐state fluctuation amplitude (RSFA) as a scaling factor to remove vascular contributions from the BOLD response. Given the peculiarity of depth‐dependent vascularization in gray matter, BOLD and vascular space occupancy (VASO) data were acquired at submillimeter resolution and averaged across cortical laminae. RSFA from the primary motor cortex was, thus, compared to the amplitude of hypercapnia‐induced signal changes (tSD_hc) and with the M factor of the Davis model on a laminar level. High linear correlations were observed for RSFA and tSD_hc (R² = 0.92 ± 0.06) and somewhat reduced for RSFA and M (R² = 0.62 ± 0.19). Laminar profiles of RSFA‐normalized BOLD signal changes yielded good agreement with corresponding VASO profiles. Overall, this suggests that RSFA contains strong vascular components and is also modulated by baseline quantities contained in the M factor. We conclude that RSFA may replace the scaling factor tSD_hc for normalizing the laminar BOLD response.

Impact of Standing Speed on the Peripheral and Central Hemodynamic Response to Orthostasis: Evidence From the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing

Assessment of the cerebrovascular and cardiovascular response to standing has prognostic value for a range of outcomes in the older adult population. Studies generally attempt to control for standing speed differences by asking participants to stand in a specified time but little is known about the range of transition times observed. This study aimed to characterize how standing speed associates with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular measures following transition from supine to standing. Continuous cerebral oxygenation, heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were monitored for 3 minutes after transitioning from supine to standing. An algorithm was used to calculate the time taken to transition from existing Finometer data (from the height correction unit). Linear mixed-effects models were used to assess the influence of transition time on each of the signals while adjusting for covariates. Transition time ranged from 2 to 27 s with 17% of participants taking >10 s to stand. Faster transition was associated with a more extreme decrease 10 s after standing but improved recovery at 20 s for cerebral oxygenation and blood pressure. Standing faster was associated with an elevated heart rate on initiation of stand and a quicker recovery 10 to 20 s after standing. The speed of transitioning from supine to standing position is associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular response in the early period after standing (<40 s). Care should be taken in the interpretation of findings which may be confounded by standing speed and statistical adjustment for standing time should be applied where appropriate.

Improving the Assessment of Breath-Holding Induced Cerebral Vascular Reactivity Using a Multiband Multi-echo ASL/BOLD Sequence

Breath holding (BH) is a viable vasodilatory stimulus for calculating functional MRI-derived cerebral vascular reactivity (CVR). The BH technique suffers from reduced repeatability compared with gas inhalation techniques; however, extra equipment is needed to perform gas inhalation techniques, and this equipment is not available at all institutions. This study aimed to determine the sensitivity and repeatability of BH activation and CVR using a multiband multi-echo simultaneous arterial spin labelling/blood oxygenation level dependent (ASL/BOLD) sequence. Whole-brain images were acquired in 14 volunteers. Ten subjects returned for repeat imaging. Each subject performed four cycles of 16 s BH on expiration interleaved with paced breathing. Following standard preprocessing, the echoes were combined using a T2*-weighted approach. BOLD and ASL BH activation was computed, and CVR was then determined as the percent signal change related to the activation. The "M" parameter from the Davis Model was also computed by incorporating the ASL signal. Our results showed higher BH activation strength, volume, and repeatability for the combined multi-echo (MEC) data compared with the single-echo data. MEC CVR also had higher repeatability, sensitivity, specificity, and reliability compared with the single-echo BOLD data. These data support the usefulness of an MBME ASL/BOLD acquisition for BH CVR and M measurements.

Effects of short-term continuous positive airway pressure withdrawal on cerebral vascular reactivity measured by blood oxygen level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging in obstructive sleep apnoea: a randomised controlled trial

Impaired cerebral vascular reactivity (CVR) increases long-term stroke risk. Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with peripheral vascular dysfunction and vascular events. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) withdrawal on CVR.

41 OSA patients (88% male, mean age 57±10 years) were randomised to either subtherapeutic or continuation of therapeutic CPAP. At baseline and after 2 weeks, patients underwent a sleep study and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CVR was estimated by quantifying the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) MRI response to breathing stimuli.

OSA did recur in the subtherapeutic CPAP group (mean treatment effect apnoea–hypopnoea index +38.0 events·h−1, 95% CI 24.2–52.0; p<0.001) but remained controlled in the therapeutic group. Although there was a significant increase in blood pressure upon CPAP withdrawal (mean treatment effect +9.37 mmHg, 95% CI 1.36–17.39; p=0.023), there was no significant effect of CPAP withdrawal on CVR assessedviaBOLD MRI under either hyperoxic or hypercapnic conditions.

Short-term CPAP withdrawal did not result in statistically significant changes in CVR as assessed by functional MRI, despite the recurrence of OSA. We thus conclude that, unlike peripheral endothelial function, CVR is not affected by short-term CPAP withdrawal.

Neuroimaging of vascular reserve in patients with cerebrovascular diseases

Cerebrovascular reactivity, defined broadly as the ability of brain parenchyma to adjust cerebral blood flow in response to altered metabolic demand or a vasoactive stimulus, is being measured with increasing frequency and may have a use for portending new or recurrent stroke risk in patients with cerebrovascular disease. The purpose of this review is to outline (i) the physiological basis of variations in cerebrovascular reactivity, (ii) available approaches for measuring cerebrovascular reactivity in research and clinical settings, and (iii) clinically-relevant cerebrovascular reactivity findings in the context of patients with cerebrovascular disease, including atherosclerotic arterial steno-occlusion, non-atherosclerotic arterial steno-occlusion, anemia, and aging. Literature references summarizing safety considerations for these procedures and future directions for standardizing protocols and post-processing procedures across centers are presented in the specific context of major unmet needs in the setting of cerebrovascular disease.

Oxygen-Enhanced and Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Optoacoustic Tomography Provide Surrogate Biomarkers of Tumor Vascular Function, Hypoxia, and Necrosis

Measuring the functional status of tumor vasculature, including blood flow fluctuations and changes in oxygenation, is important in cancer staging and therapy monitoring. Current clinically approved imaging modalities suffer long procedure times and limited spatiotemporal resolution. Optoacoustic tomography (OT) is an emerging clinical imaging modality that may overcome these challenges. By acquiring data at multiple wavelengths, OT can interrogate hemoglobin concentration and oxygenation directly and resolve contributions from injected contrast agents. In this study, we tested whether two dynamic OT techniques, oxygen-enhanced (OE) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-OT, could provide surrogate biomarkers of tumor vascular function, hypoxia, and necrosis. We found that vascular maturity led to changes in vascular function that affected tumor perfusion, modulating the DCE-OT signal. Perfusion in turn regulated oxygen availability, driving the OE-OT signal. In particular, we demonstrate for the first time a strong per-tumor and spatial correlation between imaging biomarkers derived from these in vivo techniques and tumor hypoxia quantified ex vivo Our findings indicate that OT may offer a significant advantage for localized imaging of tumor response to vascular-targeted therapies when compared with existing clinical DCE methods.Significance: Imaging biomarkers derived from optoacoustic tomography can be used as surrogate measures of tumor perfusion and hypoxia, potentially yielding rapid, multiparametric, and noninvasive cancer staging and therapeutic response monitoring in the clinic.Graphical Abstract: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/78/20/5980/F1.large.jpg Cancer Res; 78(20); 5980-91. ©2018 AACR.

Magnetic resonance imaging for assessment of cerebrovascular reactivity and its relationship to cognition: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) refers to the responsiveness of cerebral vasculature to vasoactive stimuli. CVR is an indicator of brain health and can be assessed using vasodilatory techniques and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Using such approaches, some researchers have explored the relationship between CVR and cognition; here we systematically review this work.

RESULTS

We extracted information pertaining to: (1) study location and design, participant characteristics, sample sizes, (2) design of vascular challenge, end-tidal CO 2 (etCO 2 ) concentrations (if applicable), (3) MRI protocol, (4) cognitive assessment, (5) CVR values, and outcomes of statistical analyses with cognitive tests. Five studies assessed participants with cognitive impairment compared to controls, one studied patients with multiple sclerosis with or without cognitive impairment compared to controls, one examined patients with moyamoya disease with or without cognitive impairment, two investigated patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and one was a cross-sectional study with younger and older healthy adults. Cognition was typically probed using the MMSE and tests of executive function, while a number of vasodilatory techniques were employed.

CONCLUSION

CVR was associated with cognition in six of ten studies, but heterogeneity of study samples, designs and vasodilatory methods may have a role in the inconsistent findings. We make recommendations for future research that includes use of a multi-domain cognitive assessment and standardised hypercapnic challenge with MRI.

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) MRI with CO2 challenge: A technical review

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) is an indicator of cerebrovascular reserve and provides important information about vascular health in a range of brain conditions and diseases. Unlike steady-state vascular parameters, such as cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral blood volume (CBV), CVR measures the ability of cerebral vessels to dilate or constrict in response to challenges or maneuvers. Therefore, CVR mapping requires a physiological challenge while monitoring the corresponding hemodynamic changes in the brain. The present review primarily focuses on methods that use CO2 inhalation as a physiological challenge while monitoring changes in hemodynamic MRI signals. CO2 inhalation has been increasingly used in CVR mapping in recent literature due to its potency in causing vasodilation, rapid onset and cessation of the effect, as well as advances in MRI-compatible gas delivery apparatus. In this review, we first discuss the physiological basis of CVR mapping using CO2 inhalation. We then review the methodological aspects of CVR mapping, including gas delivery apparatus, the timing paradigm of the breathing challenge, the MRI imaging sequence, and data analysis. In addition, we review alternative approaches for CVR mapping that do not require CO2 inhalation.

Multiparametric measurement of cerebral physiology using calibrated fMRI

The ultimate goal of calibrated fMRI is the quantitative imaging of oxygen metabolism (CMRO₂), and this has been the focus of numerous methods and approaches. However, one underappreciated aspect of this quest is that in the drive to measure CMRO₂, many other physiological parameters of interest are often acquired along the way. This can significantly increase the value of the dataset, providing greater information that is clinically relevant, or detail that can disambiguate the cause of signal variations. This can also be somewhat of a double-edged sword: calibrated fMRI experiments combine multiple parameters into a physiological model that requires multiple steps, thereby providing more opportunity for error propagation and increasing the noise and error of the final derived values. As with all measurements, there is a trade-off between imaging time, spatial resolution, coverage, and accuracy. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the benefits and pitfalls of extracting multiparametric measurements of cerebral physiology through calibrated fMRI experiments.

Can Arterial Spin-Labeling with Multiple Postlabeling Delays Predict Cerebrovascular Reserve?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The effect of delayed transit time is the main source of error in the quantitative measurement of CBF in arterial spin-labeling. In the present study, we evaluated the usefulness of the transit time-corrected CBF and arterial transit time delay from multiple postlabeling delays arterial spin-labeling compared with basal/acetazolamide stress technetium Tc99m-hexamethylpropylene amineoxime (Tc99m-HMPAO) SPECT in predicting impairment in the cerebrovascular reserve.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Transit time-corrected CBF maps and arterial transit time maps were acquired in 30 consecutive patients with unilateral ICA or MCA steno-occlusive disease (severe stenosis or occlusion). Internal carotid artery territory-based ROIs were applied to both perfusion maps. Additionally, impairment in the cerebrovascular reserve was evaluated according to both qualitative and quantitative analyses of the ROIs on basal/acetazolamide stress Tc99m-HMPAO SPECT using a previously described method. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of arterial spin-labeling in depicting impairment of the cerebrovascular reserve. The correlation between arterial spin-labeling and cerebrovascular reserve was evaluated.

RESULTS

The affected hemisphere had a decreased transit time-corrected CBF and increased arterial transit time compared with the corresponding values of the contralateral normal hemisphere, which were statistically significant (P < .001). The percentage change of transit time-corrected CBF and the percentage change of arterial transit time were independently differentiating variables (P < .001) for predicting cerebrovascular reserve impairment. The correlation coefficient between the arterial transit time and cerebrovascular reserve index ratio was -0.511.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrate that the transit time-corrected CBF and arterial transit time based on arterial spin-labeling perfusion MR imaging can predict cerebrovascular reserve impairment.

Cerebrovascular reactivity measurement in cerebral small vessel disease: Rationale and reproducibility of a protocol for MRI acquisition and image processing

Background

Impaired autoregulation may contribute to the pathogenesis of cerebral small vessel disease. Reliable protocols for measuring microvascular reactivity are required to test this hypothesis and for providing secondary endpoints in clinical trials.

Aims

To develop and assess a protocol for acquisition and processing of cerebrovascular reactivity by MRI, in subcortical tissue of patients with small vessel disease and minor stroke.

Methods

We recruited 15 healthy volunteers, testing paradigms using 1- and 3-min 6% CO2 challenges with repeat scanning, and 15 patients with history of minor stroke. We developed a protocol to measure cerebrovascular reactivity and delay times, assessing tolerability and reproducibility in grey and white matter areas.

Results

The 3-min paradigm yielded more reproducible data than the 1-min paradigm (CV respectively: 7.9–15.4% and 11.7–70.2% for cerebrovascular reactivity in grey matter), and was less reproducible in white matter (16.1–24.4% and 27.5–141.0%). Tolerability was similar for the two paradigms, but mean cerebrovascular reactivity and cerebrovascular reactivity delay were significantly higher for the 3-min paradigm in most regions. Patient tolerability was high with no evidence of greater failure rate (1/15 patients vs. 2/15 volunteers withdrew at the first visit). Grey matter cerebrovascular reactivity was lower in patients than in volunteers (0.110–0.234 vs. 0.172–0.313%/mmHg; p < 0.05 in 6/8 regions), as was the white matter cerebrovascular reactivity delay (16.2–43.9 vs. 31.1–47.9 s; p < 0.05 in 4/8 regions).

Conclusions

An effective and well-tolerated protocol for measurement of cerebrovascular reactivity was developed for use in ongoing and future trials to investigate small vessel disease pathophysiology and to measure treatment effects.

Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) incorporation into an intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) MR model to measure cerebral hypoperfusion induced by hyperventilation challenge in healthy subjects

OBJECTIVES

The objectives were to investigate the diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) incorporation into the intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) model for measurements of cerebral hypoperfusion in healthy subjects.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Eight healthy subjects underwent a hyperventilation challenge with a 4-min diffusion weighted imaging protocol, using 8 b values chosen with the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound optimization approach. Four regions of interest in gray matter (GM) were analyzed with the DKI-IVIM model and the bi-exponential IVIM model, for normoventilation and hyperventilation conditions.

RESULTS

A significant reduction in the perfusion fraction (f) and in the product fD* of the perfusion fraction with the pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*) was found with the DKI-IVIM model, during the hyperventilation challenge. In the cerebellum GM, the percentage changes were f: -43.7 ± 40.1, p = 0.011 and fD*: -50.6 ± 32.1, p = 0.011; in thalamus GM, f: -47.7 ± 34.7, p = 0.012 and fD*: -47.2 ± 48.7, p = 0.040. In comparison, using the bi-exponential IVIM model, only a significant decrease in the parameter fD* was observed for the same regions of interest. In frontal-GM and posterior-GM, the reduction in f and fD* did not reach statistical significance, either with DKI-IVIM or the bi-exponential IVIM model.

CONCLUSION

When compared to the bi-exponential IVIM model, the DKI-IVIM model displays a higher sensitivity to detect changes in perfusion induced by the hyperventilation condition.

Monitoring cardiac and respiratory physiology during FMRI

This article will consider how physiological monitoring can be used both as an intrinsic part of an experiment, or for removing unwanted physiological signals from the FMRI time series. As functional MRI is used for a wide variety of applications beyond the identification of regions involved in a task, different sources of noise in the time series become important. The use of arterial spin labelling sequences, either in isolation or combined with BOLD imaging, means that temporal noise must be dealt with differently. Moreover, when these are combined with global cerebrovascular stimuli, such as respiratory challenges, the standard analysis tools must be employed with great care so as not to detrimentally distort the data. Acquiring and analysing physiological data is sometimes more art than science, and this article attempts to provide some insight into common techniques as well as advice on identifying and correcting some of the problems that may be encountered.

Cerebrovascular reactivity mapping without gas challenges

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), the ability of cerebral vessels to dilate or constrict, has been shown to provide valuable information in the diagnosis and treatment evaluation of patients with various cerebrovascular conditions. CVR mapping is typically performed using hypercapnic gas inhalation as a vasoactive challenge while collecting BOLD images, but the inherent need of gas inhalation and the associated apparatus setup present a practical obstacle in applying it in routine clinical use. Therefore, we aimed to develop a new method to map CVR using resting-state BOLD data without the need of gas inhalation. This approach exploits the natural variation in respiration and measures its influence on BOLD MRI signal. In this work, we first identified a surrogate of the arterial CO₂ fluctuation during spontaneous breathing from the global BOLD signal. Second, we tested the feasibility and reproducibility of the proposed approach to use the above-mentioned surrogate as a regressor to estimate voxel-wise CVR. Third, we validated the "resting-state CVR map" with a conventional CVR map obtained with hypercapnic gas inhalation in healthy volunteers. Finally, we tested the utility of this new approach in detecting abnormal CVR in a group of patients with Moyamoya disease, and again validated the results using the conventional gas inhalation method. Our results showed that global BOLD signal fluctuation in the frequency range of 0.02-0.04Hz contains the most prominent contribution from natural variation in arterial CO₂. The CVR map calculated using this signal as a regressor is reproducible across runs (ICC=0.91±0.06), and manifests a strong spatial correlation with results measured with a conventional hypercapnia-based method in healthy subjects (r=0.88, p<0.001). We also found that resting-state CVR was able to identify vasodilatory deficit in patients with steno-occlusive disease, the spatial pattern of which matches that obtained using the conventional gas method (r=0.71±0.18). These results suggest that CVR obtained with resting-state BOLD may be a useful alternative in detecting vascular deficits in clinical applications when gas challenge is not feasible.