Characterization of white matter microstructural abnormalities in cerebral small vessel disease with cerebral microbleeds

To characterize white matter (WM) microstructural abnormalities in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) coexisting with cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) and to further investigate the exact mechanism by which CMBs influence cognitive decline in patients with CSVD at the group and individual levels. Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD) images from 49 CSVD patients with CMBs (CSVD-c), 114 CSVD patients without CMBs (CSVD-n), and 83 controls were analyzed using DTI-derived tract-based spatial statistics to detect WM diffusion changes among groups.