Hearts and minds: linking vascular rigidity and aerobic fitness with cognitive aging

The Neuroprotective Effects of Endurance Training on the Aging Brain

“…Further, high cardiorespiratory fitness has been linked to improved hippocampal (Erickson, Voss et al 2011, medial prefrontal (Colcombe, Erickson et al 2003, and anterior IC volumes ). In addition, cross-sectional studies show an association between fitness and brain function , particularly as it pertains to cognition (Dustman, Ruhling et al 1984, Prakash, Voss et al 2011, Voss, Heo et al 2013, Dupuy, Gauthier et al 2015, Gauthier, Lefort et al 2015. The current results add additional novel outcomes that cardiorespiratory fitness positively affects MPFC and HC functional activity patterns to effortful tasks.…”

Magnetic resonance imaging for assessment of cerebrovascular reactivity in cerebral small vessel disease: A systematic review

“…The studies included patients with different manifestations of SVD or the SVD features were assessed differently: asymptomatic lesions in patients with vascular risk factors 17 ; lacunar stroke 19 ; WMH in mild cognitive impairment and AD 16,18 ; and WMH in healthy elderly. 15 We focused on the imaging evidence of SVD to harmonise the studies. As summarized in the introduction, SVD has several clinical and imaging manifestations which should be more clearly discriminated in future studies.…”

“…Only three of the five studies identified here mention tolerability of the CVR technique. From these data, there appear to be few adverse effects associated with the technique, however one study excluded almost any medical comorbidity, 15 one study used nasal cannulae as they believed the patient group would be unable to tolerate a more robust delivery method such as a tight face mask (that would have allowed measurement of EtCO 2 ) 16 and one study reported no adverse events but did not give the reason why more than a quarter of participants in the study declined to take part in the CVR assessment. 18 One study specifically examined safety and tolerability of CVR using a hypercapnia method mainly in intracranial or carotid atherosclerosis patients with a mean age of 49.5 years.…”

“…whole hemisphere or lobar measurements) and not in specific tissues such as white matter, WMH, or grey matter. Three studies assessed CVR in relation to WMH burden, 15,16,18 one study assessed CVR in relation to both WMH burden and microbleed burden 17 and one study assessed CVR in relation to combined burden of WMH, lacunes and perivascular spaces. 19 One study (n ¼ 12) reported reduced CVR with worsening WMH, 18 one with worsening combined WMH, lacunes and perivascular spaces (n ¼ 5) 19 and one with microbleeds but not with WMH (n ¼ 49).…”

“…very healthy elderly). 15 From the perspective of clinical classification, the four studies with control groups all showed that CVR was impaired in the patient group compared to the control groups, 15,16,18,19 but in two of these studies 15,19 the controls were much younger than the patients and therefore the difference between patients and controls could be due to age. CVR decreased with age in three studies.…”