RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Deep white matter hyperintensity is spatially correlated to MRI-visible perivascular spaces in cerebral small vessel disease on 7 Tesla MRI JF Stroke and Vascular Neurology JO Stroke Vasc Neurol FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 144 OP 150 DO 10.1136/svn-2022-001611 VO 8 IS 2 A1 Yajing Huo A1 Yilin Wang A1 Cen Guo A1 Qianyun Liu A1 Lili Shan A1 Mingyuan Liu A1 Haibo Wu A1 Guanwu Li A1 Huihui Lv A1 Lingdan Lu A1 Yintin Zhou A1 Jianfeng Feng A1 Yan Han YR 2023 UL http://svn.bmj.com/content/8/2/144.abstract AB Background The association between perivascular space (PVS) and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) has been unclear. Normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) around WMH is also found correlated with the development of focal WMH. This study aims to investigate the topological connections among PVS, deep WMH (dWMH) and NAWM around WMH using 7 Tesla (7T) MRI.Methods Thirty-two patients with non-confluent WMHs and 16 subjects without WMHs were recruited from our department and clinic. We compared the PVS burden between patients with and without WMHs using a 5-point scale. Then, the dilatation and the number of PVS within a radius of 1 cm around each dWMH were compared with those of a reference site (without WMH) in the contralateral hemisphere. In this study, we define NAWM as an area within the radius of 1 cm around each dWMH. Furthermore, we assessed the spatial relationship between dWMH and PVS.Results Higher PVS scores in the centrum semiovale were found in patients with >5 dWMHs (median 3) than subjects without dWMH (median 2, p = 0.014). We found there was a greater dilatation and a higher number of PVS in NAWM around dWMH than at the reference sites (p<0.001, p<0.001). In addition, 79.59% of the dWMHs were spatially connected with PVS.Conclusion dWMH, NAWM surrounding WMH and MRI-visible PVS are spatially correlated in the early stage of cerebral small vessel disease. Future study of WMH and NAWM should not overlook MRI-visible PVS.Data are available on reasonable request.