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Updated: Oct 11, 2025

Non-invasive Parenchymal, Vascular and Metabolic High-frequency Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Rat Deep Brain Imaging
Published on: March 2, 2015
Deep medullary veins are associated with widespread brain structural abnormalities
Zi-Yue Liu1, Fei-Fei Zhai1, Dong-Hui Ao1,2
1Department of Neurology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Our aim is to investigate the association of cerebral deep medullary veins (DMVs) with white matter microstructural integrity and regional brain atrophy in MRI. In a community-based cohort of 979 participants (mean age 55.4 years), DMVs were identified on susceptibility-weighted imaging. Brain structural measurements including gray matter and hippocampus volumes, as well as diffusion tensor metrics, were evaluated. The mean (SD)number of DMVs was 19.0 (1.7). A fewer number of DMVs was related to lower fractional anisotropy and higher mean diffusivity in multiple voxels on the white matter skeleton (threshold-free cluster enhancement corrected p < 0.05, adjusted for age and sex). Also, fewer DMVs were significantly related to a lower gray matter fraction and a hippocampal fraction (0.10 and 0.11 per DMV, respectively; SE, 0.03 for both; p < 0.001 for both). A significant correlation between DMVs' reduction and cortical atrophy was observed in the bilateral occipital lobes, temporal lobes, hippocampus, and frontal lobes (p < 0.001, adjusted for age, sex, and total intracranial volume). Our results provided evidence that cerebral small venules disease play a role in brain parenchymal lesions and neurodegenerative processes.
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