Table 2.
GFAP and CHI3L1 immunoreactivity in the periventricular white matter in CSVD cases and the controls. Quantitative histopathological analyses of the white matter (wm) area with enhanced GFAP expression (area measured in cm2) and with CHI3L1-positive cell clusters (number within a 10-mm radius) around the central part of the lateral ventricle at the mid-hemispheric level. In CSVD cases, the medial periventricular zone (PVM) with strong GFAP expression extends much further into the lateral periventricular zone (PVL), with moderate enhancement of the GFAP expression when compared to the controls. Moreover, enhanced GFAP expression in the PVL of some CSVD cases extends farther to the deep white matter, often reaching the cortex of the superior frontal gyrus (§). ACA = anterior cerebral artery; Art. = arterial; Ctrl = control; CRF = chronic renal failure; CSVD = cerebral small vessel disease; f = female; m = male, L = left; MCA = middle cerebral artery; mm = millimetre; PCA = posterior cerebral artery; PV = periventricular region; PVL = lateral periventricular region; PVM medial periventricular region; R = right; Staging AD/Aβ = staging for Alzheimer-related neurofibrillary tangles/Aβ deposits [24]; TIA = transient ischaemic attack; wm = white matter. * p < 0.05, ** p ≤ 0.01.
| No | Age | Sex | Group | Diagnosis | Staging AD/Aβ |
GFAP-PVM wm (cm2) |
GFAP-PVL wm (cm2) |
GFAP-PV Total wm (cm2) |
CHI3L1-PV wm (# Cell Cluster) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 89 | f | CSVD | Art. hypertension, mixed dementia, TIA, aneurysm ACA, bradycardiac arrhythmia with decompensated CRF | IV/C | 0.240 | 0.535 | 0.775 | 0 |
| 2 | 79 | m | CSVD | Art. hypertension, aortic valve replacement | I/B | 0.263 | 1.167 § | 1.430 § | 1 |
| 3 | 77 | m | CSVD | Pulmonary embolism | 0/0 | 0.120 | 0.649 | 0.769 | 5 |
| 4 | 57 | m | CSVD | Renal cancer | 0/0 | 0.223 | 0.740 | 0.963 | 0 |
| 5 | 81 | f | CSVD | (Sub)acute ischemic MCA infarct L | I/0 | 0.638 | 2.172 § | 2.810 § | 1 |
| 6 | 60 | f | CSVD | Pontine bleeding | I/A | 0.357 | 0.749 | 1.106 | 0 |
| 7 | 57 | f | CSVD | Breast cancer, infarction in internal capsule | I/A | 0.490 | 1.890 § | 2.380 § | 3 |
| 8 | 78 | f | Ctrl | Pulmonary embolism, renal failure | 0/0 | 0.134 | 0.157 | 0.291 | 0 |
| 9 | 71 | f | Ctrl | Left heart failure | 0/0 | 0.125 | 0.538 | 0.663 | 0 |
| 10 | 67 | f | Ctrl | Ruptured aortic aneurysm with bleeding and circulatory arrest | 0/0 | 0.220 | 0.211 | 0.431 | 0 |
| 11 | 54 | f | Ctrl | Ovarian cancer | I/B | 0.100 | 0.777 | 0.877 | 0 |
| 12 | 84 | f | Ctrl | Subacute cerebral MCA and PCA infarctions R | II/0 | 0.181 | 0.341 | 0.522 | 1 |
| Mean | CSVD | 0.333 | 1.129 | 1.462 | 1.429 | ||||
| Ctrl | 0.152 | 0.405 | 0.557 | 0.200 | |||||
| S.E.M. | CSVD | 0.067 | 0.246 | 0.308 | 0.719 | ||||
| Ctrl | 0.021 | 0.114 | 0.100 | 0.200 | |||||
| Mann–Whitney U test | |||||||||
| Mann–Whitney U | 4.000 | 5.000 | 2.000 | 10.000 | |||||
| standardised test statistic | −2.192 | −2.030 | −2.517 | −1.370 | |||||
| exact p-value (2-sided) | 0.030 * | 0.048 * | 0.010 ** | 0.268 | |||||