Yuan-Yu Hsu1,2, Wen-Cheng Chu1,
Ho-Ling Liu3, Kun-Eng Lim1
1Department of Medical Imaging,
Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital-Taipei Branch, Taipei, Taiwan; 2School
of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan; 3Department of
Medical Imaging & Radiological Science, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan,
Taiwan
To evaluate the cerebrovascular response of normal elderly brain under breath-holding challenges by using 3-T blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) MRI and compare with previous results of normal young adults. Nineteen adults (8 women and 11 men) aged between 50 and 77 year-old (mean = 62.5 year-old) were studied. Significant breath-hold regulated BOLD signal increases were identified in the gray matter. The fractional activation volume vs. breath-hold duration reached a plateau at 15 seconds, the same as in young adults. However, the fractional activation volume and maximum signal change in the elderly group were smaller than the corresponding ones in young adults.