Biomarkers involved in the pathogenesis of cerebral small-vessel disease

Xiaolu Liu; Pei Sun; Jing Yang; Yuhua Fan

doi:10.3389/fneur.2022.969185

Biomarkers involved in the pathogenesis of cerebral small-vessel disease

Front Neurol. 2022 Sep 1:13:969185. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.969185. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xiaolu Liu¹, Pei Sun¹, Jing Yang¹, Yuhua Fan¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Cerebral small-vessel disease (CSVD) has been found to have a strong association with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and functional loss in elderly patients. At present, the diagnosis of CSVD mainly relies on brain neuroimaging markers, but they cannot fully reflect the overall picture of the disease. Currently, some biomarkers were found to be related to CSVD, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We aimed to systematically review and summarize studies on the progress of biomarkers related to the pathogenesis of CSVD, which is mainly the relationship between these indicators and neuroimaging markers of CSVD. Concerning the pathophysiological mechanism of CSVD, the biomarkers of CSVD have been described as several categories related to sporadic and genetic factors. Monitoring of biomarkers might contribute to the early diagnosis and progression prediction of CSVD, thus providing ideas for better diagnosis and treatment of CSVD.

Keywords: biomarker; blood-brain barrier; cerebral microbleeds; cerebral small-vessel disease; enlarged perivascular spaces; lacunes; white matter hyperintensities.

Publication types

Review