Frequency and Location of Dilated Virchow-Robin Spaces in Elderly People: A Population-Based 3D MR Imaging Study

More about the perivascular spaces…where exactly are they located in older folks? We have come to accept the fact that as we get older, we have more of these and that patients with cerebrovascular disease also have more PVS. The authors used 3T and T1-weighted images from nearly 2000 individuals to evaluate the PVS. Dilated PVS were seen in the basal ganglia and white matter in all subjects and correlated with advancing age. Dilated PVS in the basal ganglia were more common in men. Large PVS were seen in one-third of individuals. Conclusion: dilated PVS were always detected in the basal ganglia or white matter in elderly people, and large PVS were also prevalent. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: dVRS have been previously associated with aging and cerebrovascular diseases. However, little is known about their prevalence and topographic distribution in the general elderly population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: dVRS were evaluated by using high-resolution 3D MR imaging in 1826 subjects enrolled in the 3C-Dijon MR imaging study. On T1-weighted MR imaging, dVRS were detected according to 3D imaging criteria and rated by using 4-level severity scores based in the BG or in the WM. The number and anatomic location of large dVRS (≥3 mm) were recorded. RESULTS: dVRS were observed in the BG or WM in every subject. The severity of dVRS was significantly associated with higher age in both the BG and WM, whereas sex was related to the severity of dVRS only in the BG. Large dVRS were detected in 33.2% of participants. Status cribrosum was found in 1.3% of participants. dVRS were also highly prevalent within the hippocampus (44.5%) and hypothalamus (11.6%). CONCLUSIONS: dVRS are always detected in the BG or WM in elderly people, and large dVRS are also prevalent. The topographic distribution of dVRS is not uniform within the brain and may depend on anatomic or pathologic characteristics interacting with aging and sex.