Relationships between multimodal ocular imaging and white matter hyperintensity volume.

ABSTRACT:

Background

White matter hyperintensities (WMH), a key imaging marker of cerebral small vessel disease, are associated with stroke, cognitive decline, and mortality in aging populations, yet current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based assessments are costly and unsuitable for large-scale monitoring. Owing to shared microvascular characteristics between the retina and brain, ocular imaging offers a non-invasive alternative, but most studies have examined single-modal retinal metrics or total WMH volume, with little attention to multimodal biomarkers and lobe-specific WMH. This study aims to explore the associations between multimodal ocular imaging biomarkers and WMH volume to enable earlier, non-invasive detection of cerebral small vessel disease.

Methods

Participants (age

SUBMITTER: Li R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12514701 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature