Perivascular spaces in the centrum semiovale at the beginning of the 8th decade of life: effect on cognition and associations with mineral deposition

Brain iron deposits (IDs) are indicative of microvessel dysfunction which may predispose to small vessel disease (SVD) brain damage and worsen cognition later in life. Visible perivascular spaces in the centrum semiovale (CSO-PVS) are SVD features linked with microvessel dysfunction. We examined possible associations of CSO-PVS volume and count with brain IDs and cognitive abilities in 700 community-dwelling individuals from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 who underwent detailed cognitive testing and multimodal brain MRI at mean age 72.7 years. Brain IDs were assessed automatically followed by manual editing. PVS were automatically assessed in the centrum semiovale and deep corona radiata supraventricular. General factors of overall cognitive function (g), processing speed (g-speed) and memory (g-memory) were used in the analyses. Median (IQR) volumes of IDs and CSO-PVS expressed as a percentage of intracranial volume were 0.0021 (0.011) and 0.22 (0.13)% respectively. Median count of CSO-PVS was 410 (IQR = 201). Total volumes of CSO-PVS and ID, adjusted for head size, were correlated (Spearman ρ = 0.13, p