Cited by 1,284Cerebrovascular and genetic disordersDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchNeurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments

White matter hyperintensities, cognitive impairment and dementia: an update

Prins, Niels D., Scheltens, Philip·2015·Nature Reviews Neurology

Abstract

White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) in the brain are the consequence of cerebral small vessel disease, and can easily be detected on MRI. Over the past three decades, research has shown that the presence and extent of white matter hyperintense signals on MRI are important for clinical outcome, in terms of cognitive and functional impairment. Large, longitudinal population-based and hospital-based studies have confirmed a dose-dependent relationship between WMHs and clinical outcome, and have demonstrated a causal link between large confluent WMHs and dementia and disability. Adequate differential diagnostic assessment and management is of the utmost importance in any patient, but most notably those with incipient cognitive impairment. Novel imaging techniques such as diffusion tensor imaging might reveal subtle damage before it is visible on standard MRI. Even in Alzheimer disease, which is thought to be primarily caused by amyloid, vascular pathology, such as small vessel disease, may be of greater importance than amyloid itself in terms of influencing the disease course, especially in older individuals. Modification of risk factors for small vessel disease could be an important therapeutic goal, although evidence for effective interventions is still lacking. Here, we provide a timely Review on WMHs, including their relationship with cognitive decline and dementia.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/nrneurol.2015.10

Cites

132 of 132 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Prins, N. D., & Scheltens, P.
Affiliations
Amsterdam Neuroscience (NL)
Corresponding author
Scheltens, Philip
Venue
Nature Reviews Neurology
Published
2015-02-17
Volume
11
Issue
3
Pages
157-165
ISSN
  • 1759-4758 (ISSN-L)
  • 1759-4766
OpenAlex
W2089435027
Cited by
1,284
References
132
Citations by year
2026: 117 · 2025: 183 · 2024: 159 · 2023: 126 · 2022: 143 · 2021: 130 · 2020: 102 · 2019: 100 · 2018: 75 · 2017: 65 · 2016: 61 · 2015: 19 · 2012: 1
FWCI
9.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Nature Reviews Neurology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository (publishedVersion)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Cerebrovascular and genetic disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
Keywords
white matter hyperintensities, cerebral small vessel disease, cognitive impairment, dementia, cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease, vascular pathology, diffusion tensor imaging, dementia prevention, risk factors, older adults, brain MRI
MeSH terms
Brain, Cognition Disorders, Dementia, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Leukoencephalopathies

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review