Velocity Measurements in the Middle Cerebral Arteries of Healthy Volunteers Using 3D Radial Phase-Contrast HYPRFlow: Comparison with Transcranial Doppler Sonography and 2D Phase-Contrast MR Imaging

IntroductionSchizophrenia is a severe mental disorder, with complex symptoms involving psychosis, negative symptoms and cognitive impairment. The Trail Making Test (TMT) has been widely used to assess attention and executive function. Functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD) of basal cerebral arteries allows monitoring of aberrant cerebral hemodynamics during cognitive tasks in this patient group.ObjectivesWe assessed cerebral hemodynamics in the middle cerebral arteries (MCA) using fTCD while patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects performed the TMT and a control task.MethodsFifteen patients with chronic schizophrenia and 15 healthy controls performed the TMT-A and -B during fTCD measurements of the MCA. Dependent measures were performance, mean cerebral blood flow velocity (MFV) and the lateralization.ResultsPatients demonstrated an overall decreased speed of solution (P = 0.002), and there was no significant effect of age. They showed a significantly increased flow pattern for the TMT-B (P = 0.005). There were no lateralization differences between diagnostic groups.ConclusionsThere was a performance deficit in patients with schizophrenia for both TMT-A and -B that fits well with results of existing literature. The aberrant hemodynamic response supports the idea that cognitive performance elicits an aberrant cerebral hemodynamic correlate. It adds to the notion that fTCD is a valuable tool to correlate psychological paradigms with brain perfusion in patients with schizophrenia.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Transcranial Doppler Sonography in Familial Hemiplegic Migraine

Cephalalgia ◽

10.1046/j.1468-2982.1991.1101029.x ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 29-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Francesco Pierelli ◽

Flavia Pauri ◽

Letizia Maria Cupini ◽

Giancarlo Fiermonte ◽

Paolo Andrea Rizzo

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Artery ◽

Transcranial Doppler ◽

Pulsatility Index ◽

Doppler Sonography ◽

Cerebral Arteries ◽

Transcranial Doppler Sonography ◽

Familial Hemiplegic Migraine ◽

Hemiplegic Migraine ◽

Haemodynamic Changes ◽

The Right

A patient affected by familial hemiplegic migraine underwent Transcranial Doppler Sonography twice: the first during a spontaneous attack with right hemiparesis and aphasia, the second during a headache-free period. During the attack the following haemodynamic changes were seen: (a) bilateral increase in the middle cerebral artery and anterior cerebral artery blood flow velocities (this increase was more pronounced on the left side), (b) decreased systo-diastolic ratio and pulsatility index on the right side, (c) increased systo-diastolic ratio and pulsatility index on the left side. Our results indicate that during the attack in this familial hemiplegic migraine patient a diffuse vasoconstriction of the basal cerebral arteries developed. Moreover, Transcranial Doppler Sonography data suggest that a prolonged vasoconstriction of the peripheral arterioles could play a role in determining the neurological symptoms in this syndrome.

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Transcranial Doppler Sonography in Children

Journal of Child Neurology ◽

10.1177/0883073889004001s11 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 4 (1_suppl) ◽

pp. S68-S76 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Harald Bode ◽

Alec Eden

Keyword(s):

Transcranial Doppler ◽

Doppler Sonography ◽

Extreme Values ◽

Ductus Arteriosus ◽

Cerebral Arteries ◽

Transcranial Doppler Sonography ◽

Stable State ◽

Carbon Dioxide Partial Pressure ◽

Arterial Blood ◽

Flow Velocities

The blood flow velocities in the basal cerebral arteries can be recorded at any age by transcranial Doppler sonography. By a standardized examination technique, the vessel identification is reliable even without visual control of the site of the sample volume. A stable state of vigilance is necessary to obtain constant recordings. Age has a tremendous influence on the flow velocities. The velocities increase rapidly during the first weeks and reach their maximum around the sixth year of life. The influence of carbon dioxide partial pressure, gestational age, birth weight, hematocrit, and vigilance on the velocities has to be considered. Heart rate and arterial blood pressure are relevant only in cases of extreme values. The clinical applications of transcranial Doppler sonography cover diseases like patent ductus arteriosus, perinatal brain damage, increased intracranial pressure, cerebral malformations, brain death, and stenoses and occlusions of main cerebral arteries. The technique is helpful for control of certain therapies. A continuous recording technique has also been developed for this purpose. Care should be taken in deriving a prognosis from Doppler recordings. (J Child Neurol 1989;4:S68-S76).

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Application of Interhemispheric Index for Transcranial Doppler Sonography Velocity Measurements and Evaluation of Recording Time

Stroke ◽

10.1161/01.str.28.5.1009 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 28 (5) ◽

pp. 1009-1014 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Jesper Bay-Hansen ◽

Thomas Ravn ◽

Gitte Moos Knudsen

Keyword(s):

Transcranial Doppler ◽

Doppler Sonography ◽

Transcranial Doppler Sonography ◽

Velocity Measurements ◽

Recording Time

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Impact of vessel distortion on transcranial Doppler velocity measurements: correlation with magnetic resonance imaging

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/jns.1990.73.4.0572 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 73 (4) ◽

pp. 572-575 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

John Paul Finn ◽

Michael William Quinn ◽

Margaret Anne Hall-Craggs ◽

Brian E. Kendall

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Resonance ◽

Transcranial Doppler ◽

Cerebral Arteries ◽

Vascular Anatomy ◽

Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound ◽

Magnetic Resonance Images ◽

Doppler Velocity ◽

Velocity Measurements ◽

Content Type ◽

Middle Cerebral Arteries

✓ Because transcranial Doppler ultrasound is a blind procedure, it is not possible to routinely correct for insonation angle errors, which are presumed to be small. In anatomically normal brains this is a valid assumption; however, in some patients with distorted vascular anatomy (as in hydrocephalus) a small insonation angle cannot be assumed, and measurements of flow velocity may be misleadingly low. The orientation of the middle cerebral arteries was studied on magnetic resonance images of 17 control patients and three patients with hydrocephalus, and estimates of insonation angle errors in velocity measurements were made. When asymmetrical vessel distortion is present, relative flow to each hemisphere may not be accurately reflected in the measured velocities. Under these circumstances, the resistivity index may be a more reliable hemodynamic parameter.

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