As awareness of dementia increases, it is becoming common to see individuals presenting for clinical assessment with minor cognitive complaints. Neuroimaging studies frequently identify “incidental” WMH, usually ascribed to “microvascular disease” by radiologists, raising patient concerns about their brain health and future risk for dementia. To date, however, we are not aware of any studies that have comprehensively examined the impact of individual and combined MRI measures of white matter injury on cognitive performance among a diverse, non-demented, stroke free population with cognitive complaints over an extended period of observation. To address this important gap in scientific knowledge, the Diverse Vascular Cognitive Impairment project was funded by the NINDS to recruit 2250 Americans from non-Hispanic White, Black/African or Hispanic/Latino heritage to participate in a 6-year study that includes cognitive and diagnostic assessment, blood sampling for DNA and fluid biomarkers as well as 3 MRI measures. The goals of this study are to:
1) Identify the extent and characteristics of white matter injury that influence cognitive and health outcomes;
2) Evaluate Mechanisms of progression of White Matter (WM) Injury on Cognition and Health Outcomes; and
3) Based on these findings, build and validate a predictive risk model with the ultimate goal of increasing the understanding of precision medical management and planning needed by patients with white matter lesions, both for need for care as well as inclusion criteria for future therapeutic studies.