Association of vulnerable plaques with white matter hyperintensities on high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging

One of the widespread manifestations of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) of the brain parenchyma is white matter lesion, which appears as white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Previous studies have illustrated that large artery atherosclerosis is related to CSVD, but the precise progress of pathogenesis remains unknown. High-resolution MRI (HR-MRI) has the ability to delineate intracranial vascular walls, enabling a thorough exploration of the structure and composition of unstable plaques. This study aimed to apply HR-MRI to characterize the wall changes and plaque characteristics of middle cerebral arteries in patients with WMHs and to investigate the correlation between plaque vulnerability parameters and different degrees of WMHs.