Motivation: Post-mortem studies suggested that vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) are more strongly related to small vein abnormalities than to arteriolosclerosis. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between venous dysfunction and VCID in vivo. Goal(s): To study the role of venous hemodynamics in cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Approach: VICTR MRI was applied to patients with CSVD-related VCID to measure venous transit time (VTT) and venous cerebral blood volume (vCBV). Associations with imaging and clinical features were studied. Results: Patients with longer VTT and larger vCBV were associated with more extensive white matter hyperintensities and greater vascular risks, particularly hypertension and diabetes. Impact: Venous hemodynamics such as transit time and blood volume are associated with white matter hyperintensity and vascular risks. These measures may be useful as imaging markers to characterize venous abnormalities in cerebral small vessel disease.
Shi et al. (Tue,) studied this question.