Computational modeling of multiscale collateral blood supply in a whole-brain-scale arterial network

In this study, a computational model of multiscale anastomoses in whole-brain-scale cerebral arterial networks was developed and used to evaluate collateral blood supply by anastomoses during middle cereb ral artery occlusion. Morphologically validated cerebral arterial networks were constructed by combining medical imaging data and mathematical modeling. Sparse intermediate anastomoses were assigned between adjacent main arterial branches; the pial arterial network was modeled as a dense network str ucture. Blood flow distributions in the arterial network during middle cerebral artery occlusion simulations were computed. Collateral blood supply by intermediate anastomoses increased sharply with increasing numbers of anastomoses and provided one-order-higher flow recoveries to the occluded regio n (15%–30%) compared with simulations using a pial network only, even with a small number of intermediate anastomoses (≤10). These findings demonstrate the importance of sparse intermediate anastomoses, which are generally considered redundant structures in cerebral infarction, and provide insig hts into the physiological significance of the multiscale properties of arterial anastomoses.
Source: PLoS Computational Biology - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: research