Intracranial stenosis may be due to atherosclerotic or idiopathic non-atherosclerotic mechanisms, and each condition may incur different consequences on cerebral hemodynamics. The purpose of this study was to use a time regression analysis approach applied to hypercapnic BOLD fMRI data to evaluate how cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) timing and maximum CVR may differ between patient groups and with vasculopathy extent. Time-to-maximum CVR may be lengthened in territories supplied by stenotic vessels in both patient groups; however, maximum CVR may be reduced on average only in patients with non-atherosclerotic disease, potentially indicating that arteriolar smooth muscle and/or endothelial function may differ substantially between conditions.
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