Measuring intra-to-extra-vascular cerebral water-transport in patients with small vessel disease using 3D T2-prepared time-encoded pCASL

Motivation: The blood brain barrier (BBB) is damaged in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD). Goal(s): To study the role of subtle BBB impairment in cSVD by measuring water-transport over the vessel wall. Approach: T2-prepared time-encoded pCASL was applied in cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) patients and healthy controls. Results: T2 variations between the groups showed no significance in this preliminary sample yet. However, T2-values tend to decay earlier in VCI patients compared to HC. This suggests earlier water-transport from blood to tissue, possibly referring to stronger BBB impairment. Moreover, broader distributions of T2-values seem to indicate larger heterogeneity in the VCI-group. Impact: This study applied T2-prepared time-encoded pCASL in cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) patients and healthy controls to study subtle BBB-damage. Although T2-values showed no significant differences yet, the T2-values seem to decay earlier in cSVD, suggesting earlier water-transport into tissue.