Cerebral microbleeds: a guide to detection and interpretation

Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are increasingly recognised neuroimaging findings in individuals with cerebrovascular disease and dementia, and in normal ageing.
In this Review (The Lancet Neurology, 2009; 8: 165 – 174), the authors focus on the recent developments in cerebral microbleeds and their effects on two main questions: how CMBs are detected, and how CMBs should be interpreted. The number of CMBs detected depends on MRI characteristics, such as pulse sequence, sequence parameters, spatial resolution, magnetic field strength, and image post-processing, emphasising the importance of taking into account MRI technique in the interpretation of study results. Recent investigations with sensitive MRI techniques have indicated a high prevalence of CMBs in community-dwelling elderly people.