Modification of cerebrovascular morphologies during different stages of life

Abstract

To expand previous understanding of age-related vascular changes, we examined the association between aging and characteristics of cerebral arteries among 1133 participants aged 35 to 75 years recruited from Shanghai, China. Characteristics of the cerebral vessels including arterial branch density, mean radius, and mean tortuosity were quantified using MR angiography. The radius, tortuosity, and length of the basilar artery (BA) and the M1 segment of middle cerebral artery (MCA) were also accessed. Linear regression model was used to examine the association between age and vasculature features. The sample was divided into four subgroups by age and the association was analyzed in each subgroup. Age was found to be a significant predictor for cerebrovascular modifications after adjusting for vascular risk factors. Further analysis in subgroup revealed that the associations were due to the predominate effect of the vascular modifications happened during the younger years (35–54 years). The radius of either BA or MCA was associated with aging only in subjects aged 45–54 years. In conclusion, rapid alterations in all three morphological features assessed have been noticed to be associated with aging in the 45–54 subgroup, suggesting the potential importance of the 5th decade for early preservation method for vascular aging.