Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is highly prevalent in older adults and is a predictor of stroke, dementia, and death. SVD is also associated with cognitive dysfunction, gait problems, and urinary incontinence. SVD is diagnosed based on white matter hyperintensities on T2
weighted scans. This thesis investigates the cardiac frequency component of resting state
functional magnetic resonance imaging data in young healthy adults, older healthy adults, and older adults with pronounced SVD. A cardiac pulsatility metric is defined, and a tissue type contrast is observed between white matter, grey matter, and cerebrospinal fluid. Aging and disease effects are observed on cardiac pulsatility in white matter. The increased pulsatility may reflect the pathology of venous collagenosis and draining vein stenosis. Developing a better understanding of the etiology of SVD is an important step towards treating the disease.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/32259 |
| Date | 21 March 2012 |
| Creators | Makedonov, Ilia |
| Contributors | MacIntosh, Bradley, Black, Sandra |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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