Fig. 2

Among cognitively unimpaired and early-stage dementia participants, APOE4 carrier status influences the effect of white matter hyperintensity load on voxel-wise grey matter volume. In both cognitively unimpaired (A) and early-stage dementia participants (B) APOE4 non-carriers, increasing WMH load was associated with widespread lower voxel-wise GMV across frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital regions only in APOE4 non-carriers. On the other hand, in cognitively unimpaired (A) APOE4 carriers, increasing WMH load was associated with lower voxel-wise GMV only in the left middle and superior temporal pole, caudate and lingual gyrus and in early-stage dementia participants (B) only in right precentral and superior occipital gyrus. Clusters showing GMV loss related to WMH are shown in red. Results are shown at the uncorrected p < 0.001 height threshold with an extent threshold of 100 voxels. Results are displayed on representative sections of the MNI template brain. WMH, white matter hyperintensity; GMV, grey matter volume; APOE4, apolipoprotein E4