Background Insufficient cerebral perfusion is suggested to play a role in the development of AD. We investigated the effect of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion on AD-related pathology, including β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition and brain atrophy in humans.
Methods We enrolled 10 cognitively normal patients (median age: 64 years old) with unilateral chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Volumes of interest (VOIs) and regions of interest (ROIs) with the most pronounced hypoperfusion changes were created in the hypoperfused region, and were then mirrored into the contralateral hemisphere to create a control region with normal perfusion respectively.11C-Pittsburgh compound-PET (PiB-PET) imaging standard uptake ratios (SUVRs) and several brain atrophy indices from the CT images of each patient were calculated.
Results We found that there were no differences in SUVRs of PiB-PET imaging and brain atrophy indices between the hypoperfused regions and contralateral normally-perfused regions.
Conclusion Our findings suggest that chronic hypoperfusion may not directly induce cerebral Aβ deposition and neurodegeneration in humans.