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White matter hyperintensities can be caused by a variety of factors including ischemia, micro-hemorrhages, gliosis, damage to small blood vessel walls, breaches of the barrier between the cerebrospinal fluid and the brain, or loss and deformation of the myelin sheath. [8]
Micrograph showing gliosis in the cerebellum. Reactive astrocytes on the left display severe proliferation and domain overlap. Reactive astrogliosis is the most common form of gliosis and involves the proliferation of astrocytes, a type of glial cell responsible for maintaining extracellular ion and neurotransmitter concentrations, modulating synapse function, and forming the blood–brain ...
MRI image: Leukoaraiosis in a 90-year-old patient with cerebral atrophy. Head CT showing periventricular white matter lesions. Leukoaraiosis is a particular abnormal change in appearance of white matter near the lateral ventricles. It is often seen in aged individuals, but sometimes in young adults.
White matter is the tissue through which messages pass between different areas of grey matter within the central nervous system. The white matter is white because of the fatty substance (myelin) that surrounds the nerve fibers (axons). This myelin is found in almost all long nerve fibers, and acts as an electrical insulation.
The degeneration of white matter, which reflects the degeneration of myelin, can be seen in a basic MRI and used to diagnose leukodystrophies of all types. T-1 and T-2 weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images are the most often used approach. [ 25 ]
Using high field MRI system, with several variants several areas show lesions, and can be spacially classified in infratentorial, callosal, juxtacortical, periventricular, and other white matter areas. [21] Other authors simplify this in three regions: intracortical, mixed gray-white matter, and juxtacortical. [22]
The MRI of patients with VWM shows a well defined leukodystrophy. These MRIs display reversal of signal intensity of the white matter in the brain. Recovery sequences and holes in the white matter are also visible. [4] Over time, the MRI is excellent at showing rarefaction and cystic degeneration of the white matter as it is replaced by fluid.
Gliosis is present. Astrocytes and microglia may show irregular cytoplasm, multiple nuclei. May be seen as a high-intensity white matter on FLAIR MRI sequences signals. No major brain malformations. Relative sparing of the cerebral cortex, slight thinning of cortical ribbon may be seen. Normal gyral pattern with widening of sulci.