Differential association of cerebral blood flow and anisocytosis in APOE ε4 carriers at midlife

Maria-Eleni Dounavi , Elijah Mak, Peter Swann, Audrey Low, Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Anna McKeever,
Marianna Pope, Guy B Williams, Katie Wells, Brian Lawlor, Lorina Naci, Paresh Malhotra, Clare Mackay, Ivan Koychev, Karen Ritchie, Li Su, Craig W Ritchie and John T O’Brien.

Journal of Cerebral Blood flow & Metabolism (2023)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0271678X231173587

Summary

Timely delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the brain via the bloodstream is crucial for the maintenance of brain health. Using a brain imaging technique called arterial spin labelling (ASL) we can measure the delivery of blood to the brain tissue to quantify cerebral blood flow (CBF). In the present study we examined differences in blood flow between people who carry at least one copy of the apolipoprotein ε4 (APOE4) gene (potential higher risk for future Alzheimer’s disease) and those who do not carry any copy of APOE4. We also examined the relationship between different sizes and shapes of red blood cells and cerebral blood flow.

APOE4 carriers demonstrated an unexpected pattern of higher cerebral blood flow in their brain. We have also found that the relationship between CBF and size and shape of red blood cells is different between APOE4 carriers and non-carriers, especially in areas that are far from the arteries supplying blood to the brain.