Assessing Vascular Changes Associated with Healthy Aging using 7T Magnetic Resonance Angiography

Aging is known to produce changes in the cerebral vasculature and circulation. We aimed to quantitatively assess age-related changes in the morphology of small perforating vessels, lenticulostriate arteries (LSAs). LSA images were acquired using ultra-high field 7-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (7T MRI) from 24 young healthy volunteers (young group: YG) and 25 old healthy volunteers (old group: OG). Vessel-related factors such as curvature and tortuosity were analyzed using two-dimensional images. Our quantitative results demonstrated a fewer in their branches and a significantly more pronounced curvature in the OG compared to the YG. These findings were further confirmed qualitatively using image analysis. Our study findings show that MR angiography utilizing ultra-high field MRI can provide high-resolution images that can identify morphological characteristics of small perforating vessels. Based on these features, it is possible to document ageinduced changes in cerebral small vessels.