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Leukoaraiosis

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

  • 31 Accesses

Synonyms

Periventricular leukoencephalopathy (PVL); Small vessel disease; White matter disease; White matter hyperintensity (WMH)

Definition

Leukoaraiosis is a radiological diagnosis referring to rarefaction of white matter and describes brain pathology characterized by diffuse, confluent white matter abnormalities, typically in the periventricular regions of the brain. Most associated with disease of the small vessels, leukoaraiosis is thought to reflect chronic low-level ischemia in combination with blood-brain barrier dysfunction. Additionally, it may be associated with blood vessel abnormalities, other ischemic events, edema, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. The underlying pathology includes myelin pallor, enlargement of perivascular spaces, gliosis, axonal loss, and ischemic demyelination. Vascular risk factors, such as hypertension, heart disease, or diabetes, and increasing age are risk factors for developing leukoaraiosis. Leukoaraiosis is detectable by high-frequency CT and...

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References and Readings

  • Grueter, B. E., & Schulz, U. G. (2012). Age-related cerebral white matter disease (leukoaraiosis): A review. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 88, 79–87.

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  • Miki, Y., & Sakamoto, S. (2013). Age-related white matter lesions (Leukoaraiosis): An update. Brain and Nerve, 65(7), 789–799.

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  • O’Sullivan, M. (2008). Leukoaraiosis. Practical Neurology, 8, 26–38.

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  • Pantoni, L., & Garcia, J. H. (1995). The signficance of cerebral white matter abnormalities 100 years after Binswanger’s report: A review. Stroke, 26, 1293–1301.

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  • Pantoni, L., & Garcia, J. H. (1997). Pathogenesis of leukoaraiosis: A review. Stroke, 28, 652–659.

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  • Pantoni, L., & Inzitari, D. (1998). New clinical relevance of leukoaraiosis. Stroke, 29(2), 543.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Utah, 380 S. 1530 E., Rm. 502, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112-0251, USA

    Yana Suchy

  2. Department of Neurology, University of Utah, 175 N Medical Dr E, Salt Lake City, UT, 84132, USA

    Angela Eastvold

Authors
  1. Yana Suchy
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  2. Angela Eastvold
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yana Suchy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Richmond, Virgin Islands, USA

    Jeffrey Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation , West Orange, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Suite 200 , Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Suchy, Y., Eastvold, A. (2017). Leukoaraiosis. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_499-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_499-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

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