Volume of White Matter Hyperintensities, and Cerebral Micro-Bleeds.

Abstract Purpose In the past years the significance of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) has gained raising attention because it is considered a marker of severity of different pathologies. Another condition that in the last years has been assessed in the neuroradiology field is cerebral microbleeds (CMB). The purpose of this work was to evaluate the association between the volume of WMH and the presence and characteristics of CMB. Material and methods Sixty-five consecutive (males 45; median age 70) subjects were retrospectively analyzed with a 1.5 Tesla scanner. WMH volume was quantified with a semi-automated procedure considering the FLAIR MR sequences whereas the CMB were studied with the SWI technique and CMBs were classified as absent (grade 1), mild (grade 2; total number of CMBs: 1–2), moderate (grade 3; total number of CMBs: 3–10), and severe (grade 4; total number of CMBs: >10). Moreover, overall number of CMBs and the maximum diameter were registered. Results Prevalence of CMBs was 30.76% whereas WMH 81.5%. Mann–Whitney test showed a statistically significant difference in WMH volume between subjects with and without CMBs (p  Conclusion In conclusion, the results of this study suggest the presence of a significant correlation between CMBs and volume of WMH. No differences were found between the different vascular territories.