Neuroimaging of Small Vessel Disease in Late-Life Depression

Cerebral small vessel disease is associated with late-life depression, cognitive impairment, executive dysfunction, distress, and loss of life for older adults. Late-life depression is becoming a substantial public health burden, and a considerable number of older adults presenting to primary care have significant clinical depression. Even though white matter hyperintensities are linked with small vessel disease, white matter hyperintensities are nonspecific to small vessel disease and can co-occur with other brain diseases. Advanced neuroimaging techniques at the ultrahigh field magnetic resonance imaging are enabling improved characterization, identification of cerebral small vessel disease and are elucidating some of the mechanisms that associate small vessel disease with late-life depression.