Abstract
Sporadic cerebral small vessel disease is a major cause of cognitive impairment. MRI
is an important tool for detecting and mapping cerebral small vessel disease in vivo. Lacunes and white matter changes are recognized as characteristic MRI manifestations
of small vessel disease. Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) – small, perivascular haemorrhages
seen as well-demarcated, hypointense, rounded lesions on MRI sequences sensitive to
magnetic susceptibility – are a more recently recognized MRI marker of small vessel
pathology. CMBs are increasingly found in various patient populations and disease
settings, including first-ever and recurrent ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, Alzheimer's
disease, vascular cognitive impairment and healthy elderly individuals. Increasing
evidence suggests that the anatomical distribution of CMBs (lobar or deep) may have
diagnostic value in detecting small vessel disease subtypes including hypertensive
arteriopathy and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. However, the relevance of CMBs for cognitive
impairment remains uncertain. The study of CMBs and cognition in populations with
cerebrovascular disease presents a special challenge as they coexist and correlate
with other cerebrovascular pathologies. This review updates current thinking on how
CMBs may be relevant in the study of cognitive impairment in populations with cerebrovascular
disease, and how they can contribute in understanding the links between cerebrovascular
and degenerative pathologies.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 20, 2012
Accepted:
May 27,
2012
Received:
March 7,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
