Clinical Relevance of Improved Microbleed Detection by Susceptibility-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging

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Abstract
Background and Purpose—Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) has been shown to be more sensitive in detecting cerebral microbleeds (MBs) than is conventional T2*-weighted gradient-recalled echo imaging (GRE). However, the clinical relevance of this improved detection in terms of associations with clinical measures and risk factors is unclear. We sought to determine whether associations of MBs with clinical characteristics, risk factors, white-matter hyperintensities, and lacunes were different on GRE versus SWI in memory clinic patients. Methods—One hundred forty-one patients presenting at our memory clinic were included and underwent clinical evaluation and a magnetic resonance imaging protocol including both GRE and SWI. Images were analyzed for numbers and locations of MBs and white-matter hyperintensities. In a subset of patients, apolipoprotein E status was determined. Negative binomial regression was used to assess clinical and radiologic associations with MB number. Results—MB prevalence was 23% on...