Correlation Between Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and Oxidative Metabolism

Abstract

• To test the hypothesis that regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) is normally regulated by regional metabolic activity, rCBF and the regional cerebral metabolic rate for oxygen (rCMRO₂) were compared in selected human subjects. In normal subjects and patients with chronic, stable diseases of brain, rCBF correlated well with rCMRO₂. In one individual with mild dementia, rCBF and rCMRO₂were measured before and during exercise of the hand and forearm contralateral to the hemisphere studied. Appropriate parallel changes occurred in both rCBF and rCMRO₂during hand exercise. In patients with acute diseases affecting the hemisphere studied, however, the correlation between rCBF and rCMRO₂was unpredictable.