Association of Cerebral Hemodynamics and Cognitive Function in Adult Patients with Moyamoya Disease: A Three-Dimensional Pseudo-Continuous Arterial Spin Labeling Study

Abstract

Cognitive dysfunction is a serious complication of moyamoya disease (MMD) in adults, and reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF) might be the potential cause. We aimed to explore the correlation between cerebral hemodynamics and cognitive function in adults with MMD by using three-dimensional pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (3D-pCASL). A total of 24 MMD patients with a history of cerebral infarction, 25 asymptomatic MMD patients, and 25 healthy controls were prospectively enrolled in this study. All participants were performed 3D-pCASL, and cognitive function was evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), and the Trail Making Test Part A (TMTA). The correlation between cerebral hemodynamics and cognitive function was explored in the region of interest-based analysis. Compared with healthy controls, both CBF and cognition decreased in adult MMD. In the infarction group, the MMSE and MoCA scores correlated with CBF of the right anterior cerebral artery (P=0.037 and 0.010, respectively) and the left middle cerebral artery (MCA) cortical territories (P=0.002 and 0.001, respectively), and the TMTA time-consuming has a negative correlation with CBF of the right and left MCA cortical territories (P=0.044 and 0.010, respectively); in the asymptomatic group, the MMSE and MoCA scores correlated with CBF of the left MCA cortical territory (P=0.032 and 0.029, respectively). The 3D-pCASL can find the hypoperfusion area of CBF in adults with MMD, and hypoperfusion in specific brain regions may cause cognitive dysfunction even in asymptomatic patients.