Estimating Total Cerebral Microinfarct Burden From Diffusion-Weighted Imaging.

ABSTRACT:

Background and purpose

Cerebral microinfarcts (CMI) are important contributors to vascular cognitive impairment. Magnetic resonance imaging diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) hyperintensities have been suggested to represent acute CMI. We aim to describe a mathematical method for estimating total number of CMI based on the presence of incidental DWI lesions.

Methods

We reviewed magnetic resonance imaging scans of subjects with cognitive decline, cognitively normal subjects and previously reported subjects with past intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Based on temporal and spatial characteristics of DWI lesions, we estimated the annual rate of CMI needed to explain the observed rate of DWI lesion detection in each group. To confirm our estimates, we performed extensive sampling for

SUBMITTER: Auriel E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4519384 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature