Hyperintensity

[6] Postmortem studies combined with MRI suggest that hyperintensities are dilated perivascular spaces, or demyelination caused by reduced local blood flow.

[7] White matter hyperintensities can be caused by a variety of factors including ischemia, micro-hemorrhages, gliosis, damage to small blood vessel walls, breaches of the barrier between the cerebrospinal fluid and the brain, or loss and deformation of the myelin sheath.

[9] In most elderly people, presence of severe WMH and medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) was linked with an increase in frequency of mild cognitive deficits.

Studies suggest that a combination of MTA and severe WMH showed more than a fourfold increase in the frequency of mild cognitive deficits.

Certain features of gait pattern associated with WMH are: slight widening of the base, slowing and shortening of stride length and turning en bloc.