Longitudinal changes in white matter free water in cerebral small vessel disease: Relationship to cerebral blood flow and white matter fiber alterations.

ABSTRACT: White matter (WM) free water (FW) is a potential imaging marker for cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). This study aimed to characterize longitudinal changes in WM FW and investigate factors contributing to its elevation in CSVD. We included 80 CSVD patients and 40 normal controls (NCs) with multi-modality MRI data. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured, and fiber alterations were assessed using total apparent fiber density (AFD_t). FW were extracted from whole WM, white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and normal-appearing WM (NAWM). Baseline and longitudinal FW elevation were compared between patients and NCs, and between WMH and NAWM. We investigated whether baseline vascular risk factor score, CBF, and AFD_t could predict longitudinal FW elevation. Association betwe

SUBMITTER: Lin M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11629364 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature