Identifying promoters of cerebral small vein integrity is important to counter vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia. PURPOSE: In this preliminary investigation, the effects of a randomized 24-month physical activity (PA) intervention on changes in cerebral small vein integrity were compared to those of a health education (HE) control. METHODS: Cerebral small vein integrity was measured in 24 older adults (n = 8 PA; n = 16 HE) using ultra-high field MRI before and at the end of the 24-month intervention. Deep medullary veins were defined as straight or tortuous; percent change in straight length, tortuous length, and tortuosity ratio were computed. Microbleed count and white matter hyperintensities were also rated. RESULTS: Accelerometry-based values of PA increased by 17.2% in the PA group but declined by 28.0% in the HE group. The PA group, but not the HE group, had a significant increase in straight vein length from baseline to 24-month follow-up (p = 0.02 and p = 0.21, respectively); the between group difference in percent change in straight length was significant (median (IQR) increase 93.6% (112.9) for PA, 28.4% (90.6) for HE; p = 0.07). Between group differences in other markers were non-significant. CONCLUSION: Increasing PA in late-life may promote cerebral small vein integrity. This should be confirmed in larger studies. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT01072500.

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