Takeaway
Blood-brain barrier impairment plays a key role in early microstructural white matter degeneration in cerebral small vessel disease.
The longitudinal change in parenchymal diffusivity measured using intraVoxel Incoherent Motion represents a potential quantitative biomarker for monitoring cerebral small vessel disease.
Why this matters
These findings suggest that blood-brain barrier impairment plays an early and pivotal role in subsequent microstructural white matter degeneration and the pathophysiology of cerebral small vessel disease. Measures of blood-brain barrier leakage could be used to identify individuals at risk of tissue degeneration.