Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jun 10;24(1):138.
doi: 10.1186/s12880-024-01324-2.

Alterations in structural integrity of superior longitudinal fasciculus III associated with cognitive performance in cerebral small vessel disease

Yifan Wang #  1 , Tianyao Wang #  2 , Zekuan Yu  3 , Junjie Wang  4   5 , Fang Liu  5   6 , Mengwen Ye  3 , Xianjin Fang  7 , Yinhong Liu  8   9 , Jun Liu  10
Affiliations

Alterations in structural integrity of superior longitudinal fasciculus III associated with cognitive performance in cerebral small vessel disease

Yifan Wang et al. BMC Med Imaging. .

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the alterations in structural integrity of superior longitudinal fasciculus subcomponents with increasing white matter hyperintensity severity as well as the relationship to cognitive performance in cerebral small vessel disease.

Methods: 110 cerebral small vessel disease study participants with white matter hyperintensities were recruited. According to Fazekas grade scale, white matter hyperintensities of each subject were graded. All subjects were divided into two groups. The probabilistic fiber tracking method was used for analyzing microstructure characteristics of superior longitudinal fasciculus subcomponents.

Results: Probabilistic fiber tracking results showed that mean diffusion, radial diffusion, and axial diffusion values of the left arcuate fasciculus as well as the mean diffusion value of the right arcuate fasciculus and left superior longitudinal fasciculus III in high white matter hyperintensities rating group were significantly higher than those in low white matter hyperintensities rating group (p < 0.05). The mean diffusion value of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus III was negatively related to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score of study participants (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The structural integrity injury of bilateral arcuate fasciculus and left superior longitudinal fasciculus III is more severe with the aggravation of white matter hyperintensities. The structural integrity injury of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus III correlates to cognitive impairment in cerebral small vessel disease.

Keywords: Cerebral small vessel disease; Cognition; Diffusion tensor imaging; Superior longitudinal fasciculus; White matter hyperintensities.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The flowchart of study 110 participants. CSVD, cerebral small vessel disease; WMH, white matter hyperintensity;
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Different DTI-derived indexes of SLF subcomponents between groups
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The correlation between the MD value of left SLFIII and MoCA score
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Xu X, Gao Y, Liu R, Qian L, Chen Y, Wang X, et al. Progression of White Matter Hyperintensities contributes to Lacunar Infarction. Aging Dis. 2018;9(3):444–52. doi: 10.14336/AD.2017.0808. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dichgans M, Leys D. Vascular cognitive impairment. Circ Res. 2017;120(3):573–91. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.308426. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Prins ND, Scheltens P. White matter hyperintensities, cognitive impairment and dementia: an update. Nat Rev Neurol. 2015;11(3):157–65. doi: 10.1038/nrneurol.2015.10. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dhamoon MS, Cheung YK, Bagci A, Alperin N, Sacco RL, Elkind M, et al. Periventricular White Matter hyperintensities and Functional decline. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2018;66(1):113–9. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15149. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ding D, Xiong Y, Zhao Q, Guo Q, Chu S, Chu W, et al. White Matter Hyperintensity predicts the risk of Incident Cognitive decline in Community Dwelling Elderly. J Alzheimers Dis. 2018;61(4):1333–41. doi: 10.3233/JAD-170876. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources