Hippocampal vascularization patterns: A high-resolution 7 Tesla time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography study

Abstract

Considerable evidence suggests a close relationship between vascular and degenerative pathology in the human hippocampus. Due to the intrinsic fragility of its vascular network, the hippocampus appears less able to cope with hypoperfusion and anoxia than other cortical areas. Although hippocampal blood supply is generally provided by the collateral branches of the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) and the anterior choroidal artery (AChA), different vascularization patterns have been detected postmortem. To date, a methodology that enables the classification of individual hippocampal vascularization patterns in vivo has not been established. In this study, using high-resolution 7 Tesla time-of-flight angiography data (0.3 mm isotropic resolution) in young adults, we classified individual variability in hippocampal vascularization patterns involved in medial temporal lobe blood supply in vivo. A strong concordance between our classification and previous autopsy findings was found, along with interesting anatomical observations, such as the variable contribution of the AChA to hippocampal supply, the relationships between hippocampal and PCA patterns, and the different distribution patterns of the right and left hemispheres. The approach presented here for determining hippocampal vascularization patterns in vivo may provide new insights into not only the vulnerability of the hippocampus to vascular and neurodegenerative diseases but also hippocampal vascular plasticity after exercise training.

CXCL12-mediated monocyte transmigration into brain perivascular space leads to neuroinflammation and memory deficit in neuropathic pain

“…The brain neuroinflammation induced by peripheral nerve injury may be initiated at and distributed along the blood vessels. Our observation that the increase in PVMs and gliosis were most obvious in the hippocampus may simply be due to abundant blood vessels around the hippocampal fissure vulnerable to pathological challenges 34 , 35 .…”

“…To test if the increase in PVMs induced by SNI might interrupt BBB, we i.v. injected Evans blue or NaFlu and examined the hippocampus as there are abundant blood vessels around hippocampal fissure vulnerable to pathological challenges 34 , 35 . We found that BBB permeability was not disrupted by SNI ( Figure S5 A, B).…”

European Ultrahigh‐Field Imaging Network for Neurodegenerative Diseases (EUFIND)

“…7T MRI allows for high‐resolution imaging of both the arteries [18,20] (time of flight) and the veins [19,21] (T2* weighted imaging/susceptibility weighted imaging). Postprocessing techniques are being developed for quantitative measures of vessel density, length, tortuosity, and branching patterns.…”

Correlation Between Hippocampal Enlarged Perivascular Spaces and Cognition in Non-dementic Elderly Population

“…Our results showed that the p -values of right PCA PI were 0.058 and 0.084, which are more related to the degree of H-EPVS than MCA values. It may be because the origin of hippocampal arteries is the PCA or PCA branches, but further study with large population is needed ( 38 ).…”