Associations between carotid plaques and white matter hyperintensities in cerebral small vessel disease

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) can lead to stroke and cognitive impairment. Small vessels cannot be visualized by neuroimaging directly, and CSVD can only be evaluated by cerebral parenchymal changes in MRI. Therefore, a convenient screening method for identifying high-risk and susceptible patients is needed. Recently, some studies found that CSVD was related to large atherosclerosis, and atherosclerosis was an essential pathological feature of CSVD. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between carotid plaque size characteristics and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) in patients with CSVD.

We continuously enrolled patients with CSVD. Carotid plaque features were evaluated using carotid ultrasound, and WMHs were evaluated using brain magnetic resonance imaging. Plaque characteristics were compared between patients with no/mild WMHs and those with severe WMHs. Associations between the plaque characteristics and WMH severity were analyzed using logistic regression.

In total, 180 patients were recruited, of whom 92 had severe WMHs. The severe WMHs group had a higher sum of the bilateral maximum intima-media thickness (4.15 mm vs. 3.30 mm), longer maximum plaque length (17.20 mm vs. 13.90 mm), thicker plaques (2.70 mm vs. 2.30 mm), and more plaques (3 vs. 2) than the no/mild WMHs group. Adjusted logistic regression analyses revealed that maximum plaque length and thickness were associated with WMHs.

Carotid atherosclerotic plaque features, such as plaque length and thickness, were associated with the severity of WMHs, which suggested that carotid atherosclerotic plaque characteristics measured using ultrasound might be helpful indicators for identifying high-risk patients with CSVD.