Cardiovascular brain impulses in Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Accumulation of amyloid-β is a key neuropathological feature in brain of Alzheimer's disease patients. Alterations in cerebral hemodynamics, such as arterial impulse propagation driving the (peri)vascular cerebrospinal fluid flux, predict future Alzheimer's disease progression. We now present a non-invasive method to quantify the three-dimensional propagation of cardiovascular impulses in human brain using ultrafast 10 Hz magnetic resonance encephalography. This technique revealed spatio-temporal abnormalities in impulse propagation in Alzheimer's disease. The arrival latency and propagation speed both differed in Alzheimer's disease patients. Our mapping of arterial territories revealed Alzheimer's disease-specific modifications, including reversed impulse propagation around the hippocampi and in parietal cortical areas. The findings imply that pervasive abnormality in (peri)vascular cerebrospinal fluid impulse propagation compromises vascular impulse propagation and subsequently glymphatic brain clearance of amyloid-β in Alzheimer's disease.