Table 1 Potential applications of extracranial ultrasound in vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
From: Ultrasound and dynamic functional imaging in vascular cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease
Carotid ultrasound method | Finding | References |
|---|---|---|
Aortic stiffness (carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity) | Increased aortic stiffness in VaD | Poels et al., 2012 [142] Mitchell et al., 2011 [131] Webb et al., 2012 [132] |
Carotid stiffness index | Greater CCA stiffness indexes in VaD | Morovic et al., 2009 [180] Jurasic et al., 2009 [181] Turk et al., 2015 [149] |
Carotid pulsatility and resistance index | Higher ICA pulsatility in patients with WMH | Mitchell et al., 2011 [131] Webb et al., 2012 [132] Tanaka et al., 2009 [133] Aribisala et al., 2014 [134] |
Carotid diameter | CCA diameter increase in VaD | Morovic et al., 2009 [180] Heliopoulos et al., 2012 [18] |
Carotid BFV | Higher ICA pulsatility and lower BFV in VaD patients | Tanaka et al., 2009 [133] Aribisala et al., 2014 [134] Heliopoulos et al., 2012 [18] |
Cerebral blood flow | Lower CBF in VaD and AD patients compared to controls Longer CCT in VaD and AD patients compared to controls | Schreiber et al., 2005 [136] |
Similar CBF in VaD and AD patients compared to controls | Turk et al., 2015 [149] | |
Plaque instability: Ultrasound strain imaging | Increased strain in plaque correlated with WMH | Berman et al., 2015 [137] |
Intima media thickness and plaque burden | Positive correlation between intima media thickness and plaque burden with WMH lesion burden | Casado-Naranjo et al., 2015 [138] Heliopoulos et al., 2012 [18] Kearney-Schwartz et al., 2009 [182] Shrestha et al., 2009 [140] |