Sex- and age-related changes in cerebral microvasculature can be detected with vascular architecture mapping

Motivation: While vessel architecture mapping (VAM) is an emerging quantitative MR imaging technique that can characterize cerebral blood vessel microstructure in vivo based on dynamic changes in gradient-echo and spin-echo relaxation rates during contrast agent administration, no study has examined how age-related morphological changes affect VAM parameters. Goal(s): Our goal was to assess region-specific age- and sex-related changes in cerebral microvasculature with VAM. Approach: We applied high-resolution VAM on the healthy contralateral hemisphere of 72 age-matched women and men with stable low-grade brain tumors. Results: We could show that microvascular morphology and aging-related remodeling differ between sexes, particularly in thalamus, insular cortex, and putamen. Impact: This is the first study to characterize age- and sex-specific changes in cerebral microvascular architecture across different anatomical regions using vascular architecture mapping. Results may be of particular importance for future studies on sex-specific diagnostics and prevention of cerebrovascular disease.