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Updated: May 25, 2026

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Review of cerebral microangiopathy and Alzheimer's disease: relation between white matter hyperintensities and

C Hommet1, K Mondon, T Constans

  • 1Médecine Interne Gériatrique et CMRR, Hôpital Bretonneau, CHRU Tours, Tours, France. hommet@med.univ-tours.fr

Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders
|February 4, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Alzheimer's disease involves cerebrovascular issues. Brain MRI detects small-vessel disease like microbleeds, aiding understanding of vascular impact on Alzheimer's pathology.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Alzheimer's disease (AD) is primarily neurodegenerative but involves cerebrovascular disease.
  • The impact of vascular risk factors on AD progression is not fully understood.
  • Aging increases the prevalence and severity of small-vessel disease.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of small-vessel disease, detected by brain MRI, in Alzheimer's disease pathology.
  • To explore the utility of detecting microangiopathy for understanding vascular burden in AD.
  • To examine the questionable relationship between microangiopathy and clinical/affective symptoms in AD.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to detect signs of small-vessel disease.
  • Identifying white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) as a type of small-vessel disease.
  • Detecting cerebral microbleeds (MBs) on T(2)*-weighted images, indicating prior microhemorrhages.

Main Results:

  • Brain MRI enables detection of small-vessel disease, including WMHs and MBs, which are age-related.
  • Cerebral MBs signify microhemorrhages linked to microvascular rupture or amyloid angiopathy.
  • The precise relationship between microangiopathy and cognitive/affective symptoms in AD remains unclear.

Conclusions:

  • Brain MRI is a valuable tool for detecting microangiopathy in the context of Alzheimer's disease.
  • Understanding the vascular burden, including microbleeds, may improve insights into AD pathology.
  • Further research is needed to clarify the link between microangiopathy and the clinical course of AD.

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