Assessment of transcranial doppler sonography for vertebral artery type of cervical vertebra syndrome in the elderly

Objective To explore the assessment of transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) for the vertebral artery type of cervical vertebra syndrome in the elderly. Methods Based on the criteria of clinical diagnosis, 36 patients with the vertebral artery type of cervical vertebra syndrome and 28 healthy persons were examined by MT 1000 type TCD. The blood flow velocities,pulsatility indexes and frequency spectrum of the basilar artery (BA), vertebral artery (VA), posterior cerebral artery (PCA), anterior cerebral artery (ACA) and middle cerebral artery (MCV) were detected and analyzed before and after rehabilitation treatment. Results The blood flow velocities of vertebrobasilar artery (VBA) of the patient group were much lower than that of the control group (P 0.05 ). The abnormal rate of the patient group was 80.6 % (29 cases/36 cases). The main abnormal manifestation was decrease of blood flow velocities of vertebrobasilar artery. The blood flow velocities of vertebrosolar artery of the patient group were improved markedly after rehabilitation treatment (P 0.05 ). Conclusion TCD could provide valuable references for the diagnosis and rehabilitation assessment for the vertebral artery type of cervical vertebra syndrome in the elderly.