Quantitative MR measures in patients with cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy and their relationships with clinical scales

Abstract

Objective To analyze white matter hyperintensities(WMH)and brain volumes quantitatively in patients with Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leucoencephalopathy(CADASIL)on conventional MRI and correlate them with clinical parameters.Methods Fifteen patients with CADASIL confirmed by pathological investigation underwent conventional MRI examinations.Involvement of centrum semiovale,posterior limbs of the internal capsule,corpus callosum,external capsules and white matter of the temporal poles was determined by an experienced radiologist.Normalized brain volume(NBV)and the percentage of WMH to brain volume were calculated with softwares and they were correlated with NIHSS and MMSE statistically.Results Involvement of white matter in the brains of patients with CADASIL included:semiovale centrum in 13 cases,white matter of the temporal poles in 10 cases,external capsules in 8 cases,posterior limbs of the internal capsule in 5 cases,corpus callosum in 4 cases.The percentage of WMH to brain volume was(5.7±1.4)%,and the NBV was(1602±58)×103mm3.Spearman test showed a significant relationship between age and NBV(r=-0.555,P＜0.05).There was a significant relationship between NBV and NIHSS(r=-0.624.P＜0.05).The percentage of WMH to brain volume correlated significantly with NIHSS and MMSE(r=0.522,P＜0.05;r=-0.679,P＜0.01).Conclusions The white matter hvperintensities and brain volume in patients with CADASIL can be assessed quantitatively,which showed correlation with severity of the clinical scale.The development of WMH may refleet the degree of cognitive impairment in CADASIL. Key words: Leukoencephalopathy,progressive multifocal; Magnetic resonance imaging