Reduced coupling between cerebrospinal fluid flow and global brain activity in post-stroke dementia with subcortical lesion

Motivation: Post-stroke dementia (PSD) affects up to one third of stroke survivors but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Goal(s): We hypothesized that dysfunction in glymphatic system may play a role in the pathogenesis in PSD and aim to investigate it with non-contrast imaging method. Approach: Coupling between BOLD and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) signal was compared between PSD, post-stroke non-dementia (PSND) and normal controls. Results: Significant reduction in the BOLD-CSF coupling was found in PSD patients, which is negatively associated with cognitive test scores. Impact: The present work revealed a reduced BOLD-CSF coupling in PSD patients, indicating a potential abnormality in the glymphatic function.