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Updated: Jul 23, 2026

Longitudinal In Vivo Imaging of the Cerebrovasculature: Relevance to CNS Diseases
Published on: December 6, 2016
[Cerebral small vessel disease]
Leonardo Caranzano1, Patrik Michel1
1Service de neurologie, Département des neurosciences cliniques, Centre hospitalier universitaire vaudois et Université de Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne.
Insights
Cerebral microangiopathy, a common cause of dementia, presents with varied symptoms despite similar imaging. Effective management focuses on controlling cerebrovascular risk factors.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Vascular Neurology
- Neuroscience
Context:
- Cerebral microangiopathy is a significant contributor to dementia, second only to Alzheimer's disease.
- It acts as a co-factor in most dementia cases.
- Clinical presentations are diverse, encompassing cognitive, neuropsychiatric, gait, and urinary issues, alongside strokes.
Purpose:
- To highlight the varied clinical manifestations of cerebral microangiopathy.
- To emphasize the role of sub-radiological neurovascular unit damage in symptom variability.
- To underscore the importance of managing cerebrovascular risk factors for prevention and treatment.
Summary:
- Cerebral microangiopathy leads to diverse neurological deficits and strokes.
- Damage to the neurovascular unit, often unseen on conventional MRI, contributes to variable patient outcomes.
- Despite varied presentations, effective management and prevention strategies exist.
Impact:
- Improved understanding of cerebral microangiopathy's complex clinical spectrum.
- Highlights the need for advanced imaging or diagnostic approaches to assess neurovascular unit integrity.
- Promotes aggressive management of cerebrovascular risk factors for dementia prevention and treatment.
Abstract:
Cerebral microangiopathy is the second leading cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease and is a co-factor in the majority of dementias. Its clinical manifestations are multiple and include in addition to cognitive and neuropsychiatric manifestations, also problems of gait, urinary continence, and lacunar-ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes. Patients with similar radiologic images can present very variable clinical pictures, partially resulting from damage to the neurovascular unit, not visible on conventional MRI, and affecting different neural networks. Management and prevention are possible and effective with well-known, readily available and affordable treatments, through aggressive management of cerebrovascular risk factors.
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Ischemic Stroke l: Introduction
Ischemic Stroke ll: Pathophysiology
Hemorrhagic Stroke l: Introduction
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Cerebral Edema ll: Pathophysiology
Dementia l: Introduction

