The aim of this study was to assess, in the context of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), whether cardiovascular risk factors and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) were associated with brain tissue susceptibility as measured by quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). Given that CSVD is diagnosed by the presence of lacunar strokes, periventricular and deep WMHs, increased perivascular spaces, and microbleeds, we expected that QSM could capture changes in brain tissue due to underlying CSVD pathology. We compared a cohort of 101 HIV-infected individuals (mean age ± SD = 53.2 ± 10.9 years) with mild to moderate cardiovascular risk scores, as measured by the Reynolds risk score, to 102 age-matched controls (mean age (SD) = 50.3 (15.7) years) with similar Reynolds scores. We performed brain MRI to assess CSVD burden by acquiring 3D T1-MPRAGE, 3D FLAIR, 2D T2-TSE, and mGRE for QSM. We found that signs of CSVD are significantly higher in individuals with HIV-infection compared to controls and that WMH volumes are significantly correlated with age and cardiovascular risk scores. Regional QSM was associated with cardiovascular risk factors, age, sex, and WMH volumes but not HIV status. These results suggest that QSM may be an early imaging marker reflective of alterations in brain microcirculation.

本研究的目的是在脑小血管疾病 (CSVD) 的背景下评估心血管危险因素和白质高信号 (WMH) 是否与通过定量磁敏感图 (QSM) 测量的脑组织磁敏感度相关。鉴于 CSVD 是通过存在腔隙性卒中、脑室周围和深部 WMH、血管周围间隙增加和微出血来诊断的，我们预计 QSM 可以捕获由于潜在的 CSVD 病理学而导致的脑组织变化。我们将 101 名 HIV 感染者（平均年龄 ± SD = 53.2 ± 10.9 岁）和 102 名年龄匹配的对照组（平均年龄 (SD) = 50.3（15.7）年），雷诺分数相似。我们通过获取 3D T1-MPRAGE、3D FLAIR、2D T2-TSE 和 QSM 的 mGRE 进行脑 MRI 来评估 CSVD 负担。我们发现，与对照组相比，HIV 感染者的脑小血管病症状明显更高，并且 WMH 量与年龄和心血管风险评分显着相关。区域 QSM 与心血管危险因素、年龄、性别和 WMH 量相关，但与 HIV 状况无关。这些结果表明 QSM 可能是反映大脑微循环变化的早期成像标记。