Endothelial cell activation is associated with cerebral white matter lesions in patients with cerebrovascular disease.

Cerebral MRI scanning frequently shows white matter lesions in elderly people. They are related to cognitive impairment and may result in dementia. Although vascular risk factors are associated with the presence of white matter lesions, the exact pathogenesis remains unclear. Animal studies have indicated involvement of endothelial cells in the pathogenesis of white matter lesions and possibly dementia. We investigated the relation between endothelial cell activation and white matter lesions in individuals with cerebrovascular disease. In 29 patients with an acute stroke (n = 11) or TIAs associated with a symptomatic internal carotid artery stenosis (n = 18), markers of endothelial cell activation such as intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), sE-selectin, and sP-selectin were measured by means of ELISA. All individuals underwent 1.5-T MRI scanning. White matter lesions were rated for the periventricular and the subcortical region separately. Individuals with severe periventricular white matter lesions had higher levels of sP-selectin (245.5 ng/mL vs. 172.7 ng/mL, p = 0.01) and sVCAM-1 (547.8 ng/mL vs. 454.0 ng/mL, p = 0.04) than those without. This association was only found in individuals with a symptomatic carotid artery stenosis. No such association was found for subcortical white matter lesions. We did not detect any relation between sICAM-1 and sE-selectin and white matter lesions. Endothelial cell activation may play a role in the pathogenesis of white matter lesions, especially in periventricular white matter. Possibly, this activation represents the influence of vascular factors on the cerebral endothelium as a prelude to increasingly severe small vessel disease.