Diffuse optical assessment of cerebral-autoregulation in older adults stratified by cerebrovascular risk

Diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) at early stages is essential for preventing sequential complications. CVD is often associated with abnormal cerebral microvasculature, which may impact cerebral-autoregulation (CA). A novel hybrid near-infrared diffuse optical instrument and a finger plethysmograph were used to simultaneously detect low-frequency oscillations (LFOs) of cerebral blood flow (CBF), oxy-hemoglobin concentration ([HbO₂]), deoxy-hemoglobin concentration ([Hb]) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in older adults before, during and after 70° head-up-tilting (HUT). The participants with valid data were divided based on Framingham risk score (FRS, 1-30 points) into low-risk (FRS ≤15, n = 13) and high-risk (FRS '15, n = 11) groups for developing CVD. The LFO gains were determined by transfer function analyses with MAP as the input, and CBF, [HbO₂] and [Hb] as the outputs (CA ∝ 1/Gain). At resting-baseline, LFO gains in the high-risk group were relatively lower compared to the low-risk group. The lower baseline gains in the high-risk group may attribute to compensatory mechanisms to maintain stronger steady-state CAs. However, HUT resulted in smaller gain reductions in the high-risk group compared to the low-risk group, suggesting weaker dynamic CAs. LFO gains are potentially valuable biomarkers for early detection of CVD based on associations with CAs.