Leukoaraiosis
Encyclopedia
Leukoaraiosis or periventricular white matter disease is a term for changes in the cerebral white matter
that can be detected with high frequency by CT and MRI in aged individuals. It is a descriptive term for rarefaction
of the white matter. It is also commonly referred to as white matter hyperintensities (WMH) due to its bright white appearance on T2 MRI scans. Underlying vascular mechanisms are suspected. Hypertension
, smoking, diabetes, hyperhomocysteinemia, and heart disease are all risk factors for leukoaraiosis. It is caused by multiple small vessel infarcts in the sub cortical white matter. It is usually the result of chronic hypertension leading to lipohyalinosis of the small vessels. The patients may develop sub cortical dementia syndrome.
White matter
White matter is one of the two components of the central nervous system and consists mostly of myelinated axons. White matter tissue of the freshly cut brain appears pinkish white to the naked eye because myelin is composed largely of lipid tissue veined with capillaries. Its white color is due to...
that can be detected with high frequency by CT and MRI in aged individuals. It is a descriptive term for rarefaction
Rarefaction
Rarefaction is the reduction of a medium's density, or the opposite of compression.A natural example of this is as a phase in a sound wave or phonon. Half of a sound wave is made up of the compression of the medium, and the other half is the decompression or rarefaction of the medium.Another...
of the white matter. It is also commonly referred to as white matter hyperintensities (WMH) due to its bright white appearance on T2 MRI scans. Underlying vascular mechanisms are suspected. Hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
, smoking, diabetes, hyperhomocysteinemia, and heart disease are all risk factors for leukoaraiosis. It is caused by multiple small vessel infarcts in the sub cortical white matter. It is usually the result of chronic hypertension leading to lipohyalinosis of the small vessels. The patients may develop sub cortical dementia syndrome.
- REDIRECT Binsanger's disease
- REDIRECT Diffuse white matter disease
- REDIRECT Binswanger's diseaseBinswanger's diseaseBinswanger's disease is a form of small vessel vascular dementia caused by damage to the white brain matter. White matter atrophy can be caused by many circumstances including chronic hypertension as well as old age. This disease is characterized by loss of memory and intellectual function and by...