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Predicting White Matter Hyperintensity: Leveraging Portable MRI for Accessible Brain Health Screening
Ian P. Johnson, Hailey Brigger, Joel Smith, Emma Peasley, Alison Champagne, Lauren Littig, Dheeraj Lalwani, Gordon K. Sze et al.. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 2025-03-12
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
The final model, which included age, systolic blood pressure >140, atrial fibrillation, and tobacco use, achieved an AUC of 0.83 (95% CI 0.75-0.90) in the development cohort (N=143, 62.4±12.6 years, 44% female, 36% non-white race) and 0.85 (95% CI 0.77-0.92) in the validation cohort (N=127, 65.2±16.8 years, 51% female, 34% non-white race), with similar results using WMH measurements derived from cMRI (N=120, p=0.98, AUC=0.86, 95% CI 0.77-0.93). Additionally, we confirmed agreement in WMH volumes between pMRI and cMRI (N=120, r=0.93, 95% CI 0.90-0.95, p<0.001). The WMH risk score demonstrated accurate performance and reproducibility across cohorts, supporting its potential as a screening tool for identifying patients at risk of significant WMH burden. Appropriately targeted pMRI screening in high-risk individuals could allow providers and patients to proactively manage vascular risk factors and improve neurological outcomes. ABBREVIATIONS: pMRI = portable magnetic resonance imaging; cMRI = conventional magnetic resonance imaging; WMH = white matter hyperintensity; hypertension = HTN; diabetes = DM; atrial fibrillation = AFib; systolic blood pressure = SBP; hyperlipidemia = HLD; area under the curve = AUC; receiver operating characteristic = ROC.
Key findings
- The final model, which included age, systolic blood pressure >140, atrial fibrillation, and tobacco use, achieved an AUC of 0.83 (95% CI 0.75-0.90) in the development cohort (N=143, 62.4±12.6 years, 44% female, 36% non-white race) and 0.85 (95% CI 0.77-0.92) in the validation cohort (N=127, 65.2±16.8 years, 51% female, 34% non-white race), with similar results using WMH measurements derived from cMRI (N=120, p=0.98, AUC=0.86, 95% CI 0.77-0.93).
- Additionally, we confirmed agreement in WMH volumes between pMRI and cMRI (N=120, r=0.93, 95% CI 0.90-0.95, p<0.001).
- The WMH risk score demonstrated accurate performance and reproducibility across cohorts, supporting its potential as a screening tool for identifying patients at risk of significant WMH burden.
- Appropriately targeted pMRI screening in high-risk individuals could allow providers and patients to proactively manage vascular risk factors and improve neurological outcomes.
- ABBREVIATIONS: pMRI = portable magnetic resonance imaging; cMRI = conventional magnetic resonance imaging; WMH = white matter hyperintensity; hypertension = HTN; diabetes = DM; atrial fibrillation = AFib; systolic blood pressure = SBP; hyperlipidemia = HLD; area under the curve = AUC; receiver operating characteristic = ROC.
Why it matters
A risk score using age, high systolic blood pressure, atrial fibrillation and tobacco use predicted significant white matter hyperintensity burden with good accuracy, and portable MRI measurements agreed with conventional MRI. This could support screening to manage vascular risk factors, but it does not show that screening prevents dementia.
Study details
- Participants143
- Effect sizeAUC=0.86
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (American Journal of Neuroradiology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | American Journal of Neuroradiology: journal h-index 182 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 143 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 7 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.3 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 7 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Adam de Havenon: h-index 48 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40081846) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.a8734
- PubMed: 40081846
- Original source →
- Free full text: American Journal of Neuroradiology →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Johnson, I. P., Brigger, H., Smith, J., Peasley, E., Champagne, A., Littig, L., et al. (2025). Predicting White Matter Hyperintensity: Leveraging Portable MRI for Accessible Brain Health Screening. American Journal of Neuroradiology. https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.a8734
Vancouver
Johnson IP, Brigger H, Smith J, Peasley E, Champagne A, Littig L, et al. Predicting White Matter Hyperintensity: Leveraging Portable MRI for Accessible Brain Health Screening. American Journal of Neuroradiology. 2025. doi:10.3174/ajnr.a8734. PMID: 40081846.
BibTeX
@article{johnson2025-40081846,
author = {Johnson, Ian P. and Brigger, Hailey and Smith, Joel and Peasley, Emma and Champagne, Alison and Littig, Lauren and Lalwani, Dheeraj and Sze, Gordon K. and others},
title = {{Predicting White Matter Hyperintensity: Leveraging Portable MRI for Accessible Brain Health Screening}},
journal = {American Journal of Neuroradiology},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.3174/ajnr.a8734},
pmid = {40081846},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.a8734}
}
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