The effect of small vessel disease lesions on structural brain network

Abstract

We aim to explore the influences of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) lesion on the structural brain network of patients with transient ischemic attack or acute stroke. Our results demonstrated that the efficiency of both global and regional network of patients with SVD were lower compared to those without, and that higher total SVD burden was significantly associated with decreased network efficiency. These results suggested that both presence and severity of SVD related lesion load is associated with disrupted network organization, and brain network analysis is a sensitive method to monitor and assess SVD.