Characterization of posterior circulation blood perfusion in patients with different degrees of basilar artery tortuosity.

Publisher: Springer-Verlag Italia Country of Publication: Italy NLM ID: 100959175 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1590-3478 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 15901874 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Neurol Sci Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Milano, Italy : Springer-Verlag Italia, c2000-

Basilar Artery*/diagnostic imaging ; Basilar Artery*/physiopathology ; Basilar Artery*/pathology ; Basilar Artery*/abnormalities ; Cerebrovascular Circulation*/physiology; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Adult ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Objective: The morphology of basilar artery (BA) may affect posterior circulation blood perfusion. We aimed to investigate whether different degrees of BA tortuosity could lead to the alterations of posterior circulation perfusion.
Methods: We collected 138 subjects with different BA tortuosity scores, including 32 cases of score 0, 45 cases of score 1, 43 cases of score 2, and 18 cases of score 3. A higher score represented a higher degree of BA tortuosity. Ordered logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the risk factors for BA tortuosity. We quantitatively measured the cerebral blood flow (CBF) in eight posterior circulation brain regions using arterial spin labeling. SPSS 25.0 was used for statistical analysis. The correlation between the CBF and BA tortuosity was corrected by the Bonferroni method. The significance level was set at 0.006 (0.05/8).
Results: Hypertension (HR: 2.39; 95%CI: 1.23-4.71; P = 0.01) and vertebral artery dominance (HR: 2.38; 95%CI: 1.10-4.67; P = 0.03) were risk factors for BA tortuosity. CBF in occipital gray matter (R = -0.383, P < 0.001), occipital white matter (R = -0.377, P < 0.001), temporal gray matter (R = -0.292, P = 0.001), temporal white matter (R = -0.297, P < 0.001), and cerebellum (R = -0.328, P < 0.001) were negatively correlated with BA tortuosity degree. No significant correlation was found between the BA tortuosity degree and CBF in hippocampus (R = -0.208, P = 0.014), thalamus (R = -0.001, P = 0.988) and brainstem (R = -0.204, P = 0.016).
Conclusions: BA tortuosity could affect posterior circulation blood perfusion. CBF was negatively correlated with BA tortuosity degree. The morphology of BA may serve as a biomarker for posterior circulation and the severity of posterior circulation ischemia.
(© 2024. Fondazione Società Italiana di Neurologia.)

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Keywords: Arterial spin labeling; Basilar artery tortuosity; Cerebral blood flow; Vertebral artery dominance

Date Created: 20240529 Date Completed: 20241012 Latest Revision: 20241012

20241013

10.1007/s10072-024-07591-9

38809448