Diffusion abnormalities linked to brain arteriolosclerosis: An in-vivo MRI and pathology study in community-based older adults

Brain arteriolosclerosis is one of the main pathologies of cerebral small vessel disease, is common in older adults, and is associated with lower cognitive and motor function and higher odds of dementia. This work combined in-vivo MRI and pathology in a community-cohort of older adults to investigate the independent association of brain arteriolosclerosis with diffusion abnormalities in white matter. Brain arteriolosclerosis was shown to be associated with lower FA and higher trace of the diffusion tensor that extended throughout white matter, and these associations were independent of the effects of other neuropathologies or white matter hyperintensities.