Investigation the relationship between cerebral small veins and microbleeds using 7T QSM in Alzheimer’s disease

Motivation: Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are small hypointense lesions often associated with cerebral small vessel diseases like cerebral amyloid angiopathy and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Goal(s): Our aim is to evaluate the feasibility of using ultra-high resolution QSM at 7T MRI to find a link between small veins and CMBs in AD. Approach: We used 7T QSM to established a connection between CMBs and the venous vasculature to evaluate venous contributions to AD conditions. Results: Our data support the notion that CMBs might not exclusively derive from arteries, but that venous contribution could play an important, yet not much explored, role in CMBs in AD cohorts. Impact: Our results provide evidence of a potential connection between CMBs and small veins, suggesting a potential role for veins in AD.