Table 3.
Cerebral small vessel disease markers of patients with or without Dawson's fingers.
| Characteristic | CSVD without Dawson's fingers (N = 45) | CSVD with Dawson's fingers (N = 20) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerebral Microbleeds, n (%) | 19 (42.2) | 15 (75.0) | 0.018 |
| Lobar CMBs | 18 | 13 | 0.105 |
| Deep CMBs | 16 | 14 | 0.015 |
| Mixed CMBs | 12 | 12 | 0.014 |
| CMB burden | 0.011 | ||
| 0 (0 CMB) | 26 | 5 | 0.017 |
| 1 (1–5 CMB) | 5 | 3 | 0.693 |
| 2 (6–15 CMBs) | 6 | 10 | 0.004 |
| 3 (>15 CMBs) | 7 | 2 | 0.710 |
| Lacunes, n (%) | 30 (66.7) | 19 (95.0) | 0.014 |
| Lobar lacunes | 24 | 17 | 0.015 |
| Deep lacunes | 21 | 18 | 0.001 |
| Mixed lacunes | 14 | 16 | <0.001 |
| Lacunes burden | 0.003 | ||
| 0 (0 lacunes) | 15 | 2 | 0.067 |
| 1 (1–3 lacunes) | 14 | 2 | 0.117 |
| 2 (4–10 lacunes) | 12 | 8 | 0.383 |
| 3 (>10 lacunes) | 4 | 8 | 0.005 |
| PVWMH (Fazekas score), n (%) | 0.050 | ||
| 0–1 | 21 | 3 | 0.025 |
| 2 | 8 | 6 | 0.332 |
| 3 | 16 | 11 | 0.178 |
| DWMH (Fazekas score), n (%) | 0.054 | ||
| 0–1 | 28 | 6 | 0.030 |
| 2 | 9 | 8 | 0.127 |
| 3 | 8 | 6 | 0.332 |
| Total WMH severity (Fazekas score), n (%) | 0.027 | ||
| 0–2 | 19 | 2 | 0.011 |
| 3–4 | 16 | 9 | 0.583 |
| 5–6 | 10 | 9 | 0.080 |
| WMH volume, ml (median, IQR) | 17 (10–65) | 38 (18–75) | 0.153 |
| Severe CSO-EPVS, n (%) | 9 | 6 | 0.524 |
| Severe BG-EPVS, n (%) | 14 | 10 | 0.171 |
| Total SVD score (median, IQR) | 3 (1.5–3) | 3 (3–4) | 0.005 |
CMBs, cerebral microbleeds; CSO, centrum semiovale; BG, basal ganglia; EPVS, enlarged perivascular spaces; PVWMH, periventricular white matter hyperintensities; DMWH, deep white matter hyperintensities; CSVD, cerebral small vessel disease; IQR, Inter Quartile Range.
The CMBs were divided into lobar CMBs group, deep CMBs group, and mixed CMBs group on the basement of locations (22). CMBs in cortices or subcortical and periventricular white matter were lobar CMBs. Deep CMBs were in areas including deep white matter (corpus callosum, internal, external, and extreme capsule), deep nuclei (basal ganglia and thalamus), and infratentorial structures (brain stem and cerebellum). Mixed CMBs included both lobar and deep CMB. The scoring standard of CMB burden is as follows: 0 points for 0 CMB, 1 point for 1–5 CMBs, 2 points for 6–15 CMBs, 3 points for over 15 CMBs.
Lacunes were defined as a subcortical cavity filled with fluid having a similar signal to CSF, shaped round or ovoid, ranging from 3 to 15 mm in diameter and they were classified based on T1, T2, FLAIR images (5). Lacunes were classified in three groups: lobar lacunes (in centrum semiovale, frontal, parietal, insular/subinsular, temporal, and occipital lobes), deep lacunes (in thalamus, basal ganglia, caudate, internal, and external capsule), and mixed lacunes (including both lobar and deep) (23). The scoring standard of lacunes burden is as follows: 0 points for 0 lacune, 1 point for 1–3 lacunes, 2 points for 4–10 lacunes, 3 points for over 10 lacunes.
WMH were defined as hyperintense of variable size in the demyelination of white matter on T2/FLAIR images on MRI. Fazekas grading scale was used to assess the level of WMH.
Severe BG-EPVS or CSO-EPVS were defined as >20 in the basal ganglia or centrum semiovale.
x2-test and Mann–Whitney test to test for differences between patient with Dawson's fingers.