# Imaging Cerebral Small Vessels in Vascular Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (VCID)

> **NIH NIH RF1** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2023 · $2,487,668

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) is becoming increasingly recognized as
an important cause of dementia. Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) is the most common vascular cause of
dementia, a major contributor to mixed dementia, and the cause of about one fifth of all strokes worldwide.
However, the underlying mechanisms of cSVD remain poorly understood. The large knowledge gap in cSVD is
partly because cerebral small vessels, including arterioles, capillaries and venules, are inaccessible to existing
in vivo imaging technologies. During the past few years, our group has spearheaded the development of a new
high-resolution black-blood MRI technique for the visualization, segmentation and quantification of cerebral
small vessels including lenticulostriate and superficial perforating arteries and venules. This technique offers
an isotropic ~0.5mm spatial resolution, adequate flow suppression for small vessels due to the long echo train,
and near whole-brain coverage in ~10min at clinical field strength of 3T. We further developed a
comprehensive 3D analysis pipeline for quantifying the morphology and density of cerebral small vessels with
sizes on the order of a few hundred microns. In addition, we have a longstanding track record in developing
and applying arterial spin labeling (ASL) techniques for quantifying microvascular perfusion – a key
physiological parameter and potential biomarker for cSVD. Our preliminary data demonstrated expected
changes in small vessel morphology and density as well as microvascular perfusion with aging, vascular risks
and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), supporting the use of metrics of small vessel morphology/density and
microvascular perfusion as imaging markers of cSVD and VCID. The primary goals of this project are to further
optimize the acquisition protocol and analysis pipeline for mapping and quantifying cerebral small vessels
using black-blood and ASL MRI at 3T, and to systematically evaluate metrics of small vessel
morphology/density and perfusion as imaging biomarkers of VCID in a multiethnic longitudinal cohort of 200
subjects that are enriched for small vessel VCID. In particular, our study will enroll a cohort of 50 Asian
Americans who are among the fastest growing populations in the US but are highly underrepresented in ADRD
research. This project is expected to result in a powerful suite of imaging tools for comprehensive
characterization of the morphology and function of cerebral small vessels, as well as to fill in the important gap
in health disparities of Asian Americans in ADRD research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10745164
- **Project number:** 1RF1AG084072-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Xuejuan Jiang
- **Activity code:** RF1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $2,487,668
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10745164

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10745164, Imaging Cerebral Small Vessels in Vascular Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (VCID) (1RF1AG084072-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10745164. Licensed CC0.

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