A multiphysics model to predict periventricular white matter hyperintensity growth during healthy brain aging

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• Johannes Weickenmeier (Stevens Institute of Technology)
• Tuesday 01 August 2023, 16:00-17:00
• Seminar Room 1, Newton Institute.

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USMW02 - Mathematical mechanical biology: old school and new school, methods and applications

White matter changes are a frequent observations in the aging human brain and are considered a reliable indicator for cognitive impairment and long-term functional decline. On T2-weighted fluid attenuated inversion recovery magnetic resonance images, these lesions appear as white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and are commonly associated with vascular degeneration. From a physics perspective, however, the persistent (onset) locations of periventricular WMHs along the edges of the lateral ventricles suggests involvement of mechanical (over)loading of the ependymal cells forming the functional brain-fluid barrier. We use computational modeling to systematically explore the relationship between brain aging, white matter changes, and WMH formation. To that end, we build anatomically accurate brain models and predict the mechanical loading of periventricular tissues. We observe that maximum ependymal cell stretch consistently localizes in the anterior and posterior horns irrespective of ventricular volume or shape. More importantly, these locations coincide with periventricular WMH locations observed in our patient scans. From these results, we pose that further analysis of white matter pathology in the periventricular zone that includes a mechanics-driven deterioration model for the ventricular wall.

This talk is part of the Isaac Newton Institute Seminar Series series.

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