On the Etiology of Incident Brain Lacunes : Longitudinal Observations From the LADIS Study

We investigated regional differences in MRI characteristics and risk factor profiles of incident lacunes over a 3-year period. Baseline and 3-year follow-up MRI were collected within the LADIS study (n=358). Incident lacunes were characterized with respect to brain region, their appearance within pre-existent white matter hyperintensities (WMH), surrounding WMH size, and risk factors. 106 incident lacunes were observed in 62 patients (58 subcortical white matter [WM], 35 basal ganglia, and 13 infratentorial). Incident subcortical WM lacunes occurred more often within preexisting WMH (P=0.01) and were mostly accompanied by new and expanded WMH (P