Motivation: Cognitive impairment from vascular disease lacks clear biomarkers, complicating early detection. Brain oxygen-extraction-fraction (OEF), an indicator of oxygen utilization, may reveal vascular contributions to cognitive decline, especially in executive function. Goal(s): We aimed at investigating the relationship between cortical and subcortical OEF and cognitive function in individuals with vascular risk. Approach: We used advanced MRI techniques (aTRUPC) to measure cortical and subcortical OEF in older adults (N=87) with vascular risks, assessing its association with global and domain cognitive performance and vascular-risk-scores. Results: Elevated cortical and subcortical OEF were significantly related to poorer global cognition and executive function, meanwhile significantly correlated with higher vascular-risk-scores. Impact: This research suggests that OEF may serve as an early biomarker for cognitive impairment due to vascular disease, particularly impacting executive function, which could improve early intervention strategies and monitoring of vascular cognitive impairment.
Song et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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