Peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity as a marker of diffuse cerebrovascular damage

Publication: Frontiers in Neuroscience

Audrey Low, Elijah Mak, James D. Stefaniak, Maura Malpetti, Nicolas Nicastro, George Savulich, Leonidas Chouliaras, Hugh S. Markus, James B. Rowe and John T. O’Brien

19 March 2020


The peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity (PSMD) has been proposed as a fully automated imaging marker of relevance to cerebral small vessel disease (SVD). The researchers assessed PSMD in relation to conventional SVD markers, global measures of neurodegeneration, and cognition.

PSMD was associated with global and regional SVD measures, especially WMH and microbleeds. Dominance analysis demonstrated that among SVD markers, WMH was the strongest predictor of PSMD. Furthermore, PSMD was more closely associated to WMH than with GM and WM volumes.

This new measure appears to be a marker of diffuse brain injury, largely due to vascular pathology, and may be a useful and convenient metric of overall cerebrovascular burden.

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