[Clinico-radiological spectrum of cerebral small vessel diseases]

Cerebral small vessel diseases are frequent and can be seen through all ages. Although the most frequent forms related to age and hypertension or to cerebral amyloid angiopathy are mainly observed in subjects over 50 years of age, rarer forms may affect young people, sometimes even children. Some familial or inflammatory forms can be particularly misleading with some presentations very difficult to relate to a microvascular origin. Cerebral small vessel diseases thus raise both daily therapeutic issues and much rarer diagnostic questions, sometimes extremely complex. Our aim was to review the main clinical initial presentations and the clinico-radiological spectrum of associated underlying conditions.