Late life brain perfusion after prenatal famine exposure


Late life brain perfusion after prenatal famine exposure

de Rooij, S. R.; Mutsaerts, H. M.; Petr, J.; Asllani, I.; Caan, M. W.; Groot, P.; Nederveen, A.; Schwab, M.; Roseboom, T. J.

Early nutritional deprivation may cause irreversible damage to the brain and seems to affect cognitive function in older age. We investigated whether prenatal undernutrition was associated with brain perfusion differences in older age. We acquired Arterial spin labelling scans in 118 Dutch famine birth cohort members. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was compared between exposed and unexposed groups in grey and white matter, perfusion territories, neurodegeneration-related regions anterior and posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus. Furthermore, we compared the GM/WM-ratio and the spatial coefficient of variation (CoV) as a proxy of overall cerebrovascular health. The WM ASL signal and the GM/WM-ratio were significantly lower and higher respectively among exposed participants. Exposed men had lower CBF in anterior and posterior cingulate cortices and higher spatial CoV. The latter seemed largely mediated by higher 2h-glucose levels at age 50. Our findings suggest that overall brain perfusion was worse in exposed participants, especially men exposed to undernutrition in early gestation. These results provide further evidence for life-long effects of undernutrition during early brain development.

Keywords: brain perfusion; prenatal famine; fetal programming

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Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-29117
Publ.-Id: 29117