Development of a protocol to assess within-subject, regional white matter hyperintensity changes in aging and dementia.

Background: White matter hyperintensities (WMH), associated with both dementia risk and progression, can individually progress, remain stable, or even regress influencing cognitive decline related to specific cerebrovascular-risks. This study details the development and validation of a registration protocol to assess regional, within-subject, longitudinal WMH changes (ΔWMH) that is currently lacking in the field.

New Method: 3D-FLAIR images (baseline and one-year-visit) were used for protocol development and validation.