Home › Research › Vascular contributions
Relationship between white matter hyperintensities, cortical thickness, and cognition
Tuladhar AM, Reid AT, Shumskaya E, de Laat KF, van Norden AG, van Dijk EJ, Norris DG, de Leeuw FE.. Stroke, 2015-01-08
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background and purpose White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are associated with clinically heterogeneous symptoms that cannot be explained by these lesions alone. It is hypothesized that these lesions are associated with distant cortical atrophy and cortical thickness network measures, which can result in an additional cognitive impairment. Here, we investigated the relationships between WMH, cortical thickness, and cognition in subjects with cerebral small vessel disease. Methods A total of 426 subjects with cerebral small vessel disease were included, aged between 50 and 85 years, without dementia, and underwent MRI scanning. Cortical thickness analysis was performed, and WMH were manually segmented. Graph theory was applied to examine the relationship between network measures and WMH, and structural covariance matrices were constructed using inter-regional cortical thickness correlations. Results Higher WMH load was related to lower cortical thickness in frontotemporal regions, whereas in paracentral regions, this was related to higher cortical thickness. Network analyses revealed that measures of network disruption were associated with WMH and cognitive performance. Furthermore, WMH in specific white matter tracts were related to regional-specific cortical thickness and network measures. Cognitive performances were related to cortical thickness in frontotemporal regions and network measures, and not to WMH, while controlling for cortical thickness. Conclusions These cross-sectional results suggest that cortical changes (regional-specific damage and network breakdown), mediated (in)directly by WMH (tract-specific damage) and other factors (eg, vascular risk factors), might lead to cognitive decline. These findings have implications in understanding the relationship between WMH, cortical morphology, and the possible attendant cognitive decline and eventually dementia.
Key findings
- Background and purpose White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are associated with clinically heterogeneous symptoms that cannot be explained by these lesions alone.
- It is hypothesized that these lesions are associated with distant cortical atrophy and cortical thickness network measures, which can result in an additional cognitive impairment.
- Results Higher WMH load was related to lower cortical thickness in frontotemporal regions, whereas in paracentral regions, this was related to higher cortical thickness.
- Network analyses revealed that measures of network disruption were associated with WMH and cognitive performance.
- Conclusions These cross-sectional results suggest that cortical changes (regional-specific damage and network breakdown), mediated (in)directly by WMH (tract-specific damage) and other factors (eg, vascular risk factors), might lead to cognitive decline.
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants426
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 30 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 52 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Stroke) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 426 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25572411) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 30 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 30 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 52 out of 100. |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
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 names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Tuladhar, A. M., Reid, A. T., Shumskaya, E., de Laat, K. F., van Norden, A. G., van Dijk, E. J., et al. (2015). Relationship between white matter hyperintensities, cortical thickness, and cognition. Stroke. https://doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.114.007146
Vancouver
Tuladhar AM, Reid AT, Shumskaya E, de Laat KF, van Norden AG, van Dijk EJ, et al. Relationship between white matter hyperintensities, cortical thickness, and cognition. Stroke. 2015. doi:10.1161/strokeaha.114.007146. PMID: 25572411.
BibTeX
@article{tuladhar2015-25572411,
author = {Tuladhar, A. M. and Reid, A. T. and Shumskaya, E. and de Laat, K. F. and van Norden, A. G. and van Dijk, E. J. and Norris, D. G. and de Leeuw, F. E.},
title = {{Relationship between white matter hyperintensities, cortical thickness, and cognition}},
journal = {Stroke},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1161/strokeaha.114.007146},
pmid = {25572411},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.114.007146}
}
Related studies in Vascular contributions
Also tagged “cerebral”
900 studies in the library carry the topic tag “cerebral”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 900 tagged studies.