White Matter Lesions Are Prevalent but Differentially Related With Cognition in Aging and Early Alzheimer Disease

Abstract
Hyperintense signal abnormalities are commonly found in the cerebral white matter on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in nondemented aging and in Alzheimer disease (AD). A quantitative review of the influence of white matter lesions (WMLs) on cognition in healthy older persons found that WMLs were associated with reduced memory, processing speed, and executive functions.1 White matter lesions are consistently associated with age, hypertension, and other cardiovascular risk factors2 and are commonly considered part of the spectrum of vascular-related injury,3 despite nonspecific underlying pathologic changes.4