Reader Response: Simple MRI Score Aids Prediction of Dementia in Cerebral Small Vessel Disease.

Abstract

The Amin Al Olama et al.1 article elucidates the utility of total cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) MRI load in predicting future dementia risk using data from 3 prospective longitudinal cohort studies. There is increasing recognition that SVD is a whole-brain disease, with different features (e.g., white matter hyperintensities, lacunes, and microbleeds) representing common intrinsic microvascular pathologies.2 Reported associations between total MRI load of SVD and cognitive ability suggest that a combined SVD score may represent the global effect on the brain.3 This study improves our understanding of the utility of such combined measures by illustrating that a simple MRI score can predict risk of future dementia.