Age-related impairment of metabovascular coupling during cortical spreading depolarizations.

Abstract

Cortical spreading depolarizations (SDs) may lead to long-lasting alterations in cerebral blood flow (CBF), which contribute to neuronal dysfunction and hypoxic tissue injury. There is growing evidence to suggest that age-related structural and functional alterations of the neurovascular unit significantly increase both the incidence of SDs and aggravate their functional consequences. Recent studies suggest that metabolic signaling plays a major role in modulating cerebral blood flow responses evoked by SDs and provide critical evidence that aging considerably weakens metabovascular coupling with SD. As a consequence, the aged brain becomes increasingly more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of SDs.