Impaired autoregulation is associated with mortality in severe cerebral diseases

Background: Small cerebral vessels respond to variations of cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) by changes of vessel diameter inducing changes of blood flow resistance and keeping cerebral blood flow constant. This mechanism is called cerebral autoregulation (CA). An index Mx, observing correlation between cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) and CPP has been recently introduced for assessment of state of CA during spontaneous changes of CPP. In the current study, the relationship between lethal outcome during hospitalization and Mx index was investigated.