Supratentorial Periventricular White Matter Disease

Anatomy

According to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the brain contains two primary types of material known as gray matter and white matter. Gray matter, which surrounds the outermost layer of the brain and runs down the spinal cord, contains a vast complex of neurons, while the white matter enables these neurons to send their nerve messages faster and more efficiently.

Medfriendly.com defines periventricular white matter as the white matter surrounding the brain's lateral ventricles. Different categories of periventricular white matter correspond to certain areas of the brain, such as the frontal, occipital, parietal and temporal lobes, all of which make up the cerebrum, according to the Bryn Mawr College Serendip website. "Supratentorial," according to Penn State Children's Hospital, refers to the cerebrum's upper-brain location in general, as opposed to the cerebellum's location in the infratentorial region underneath.

Changes in the periventricular white matter may indicate nothing more than normal aging. But some changes spring from certain diseases such as Binswanger's disease. MedFriendly describes Binswanger's disease as an illness that leads to dementia, or loss of thinking ability. According to The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the disease causes atherosclerosis, or hardened, narrowed arteries, in the brain. The resulting death of brain cells can lead to progressively worsening symptoms, such as a lack of motor coordination, forgetfulness and mood disorders.

CADASIL, a disease of the cerebral arteries, may also correspond with periventricular white matter disease, according to MedFriendly. The full name of the condition, cerebral automsomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy, refers directly to white matter abnormalities (leukoencephalopathy). The Genetics Home Reference website lists migraines and strokes among the side-effects of this inherited disease.

Multiple sclerosis tends to appear in conjunction with periventricular white matter disease, according to analysis of white matter diseases by Blake A. Johnson. Examinations of patients with this neurological condition often show lesions in the white matter. Johnson also mentions another white matter problem, a childhood malady called Schilder's disease, as a possible variant of multiple sclerosis.

Unfortunately, treatment for any white matter disease can only hope to slow the inevitable progression of symptoms. Binswanger's disease has no known cure, and NINDS limits its recommendations to preventing or slowing atherosclerosis by following a healthy lifestyle. In the case of CADACIL, the NCBI's Gene Reviews webpage can only suggest emotional and practical support as treatments, though experimental research on the illness continues.