AUTHOR=Wu Xiaowei , Ge Xin , Du Jing , Wang Yao , Sun Yawen , Han Xu , Ding Weina , Cao Mengqiu , Xu Qun , Zhou Yan TITLE=Characterizing the Penumbras of White Matter Hyperintensities and Their Associations With Cognitive Function in Patients With Subcortical Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=10 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2019.00348 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2019.00348 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=
Normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) surrounding white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), frequently known as the WMH penumbra, is associated with subtle white matter injury and has a high risk for future conversion to WMHs. The goal of this study was to define WMH penumbras and to further explore whether the diffusion and perfusion parameters of these penumbras could better reflect cognitive function alterations than WMHs in subjects with subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment (svMCI). Seventy-three svMCI subjects underwent neuropsychological assessments and 3T MRI scans, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and arterial spin labeling (ASL). To determine the extent of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and DTI penumbras. A NAWM layer mask was generated for periventricular WMHs (PVWMHs) and deep WMHs (DWMHs) separately. Mean values of CBF, fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD) within the WMHs and their corresponding NAWM layer masks were computed and compared using paired