Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a common and multi-faceted set of pathologies that affect the small arteries, arterioles, venules and capillaries of the brain. The disease manifests through a range of symptoms and conditions, including psychiatric disorders, abnormal gait, and urinary incontinence, while accounting for 25% of strokes and nearly 50% of dementia.

 

The presence of CSVD is associated with white matter lesions (WML) detected using neuroimaging, which have in turn been shown to predict future stroke, cognitive decline and dementia. While vascular risk factors of CSVD (such as hypertension and obesity) are also associated with CSVD, a complete picture of the predictive relationship between WML, cognitive decline, and blood pressure remains to be determined, as does the role of sex/gender. These inter-relationships are important to determine for improving the diagnosis and treatment of CSVD.

 

In the current study, Beyer et al. will analyse a large emerging dataset from the LIFE-Adult project – a longitudinal, two-wave, population-based study – to ask whether higher blood pressure predicts a greater increase in WML, and whether progression of WML is associated with measures of memory and executive function. In addition, the authors will explore the relationship between abdominal obesity and WML progression, and the extent to which WML progression, and its interaction with vascular risk factors, depends on sex/gender.

 

The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/qkbgj

 

Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that will be used to answer the research question has been accessed and partially observed by the authors, but the authors certify that they have not yet observed the key variables within the data that will be used to answer the research question.

 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:

 

 

 

1. Beyer, F., Lammer, L., Loeffler, M., Riedel-Heller, S., Villringer, A. & Witte, V. (2023). Investigating the impact of vascular risk factors on the progression of white matter lesions, in principle acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/qkbgj