Carnevale L, et al. - Researchers assessed the characteristics of a signature of hypertension-induced early brain damage that could be seen before the manifestation of neurodegenerative injury. For this purpose, they performed DTI-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to identify microstructural damage of white matter (WM) by probabilistic fiber-tracking in hypertensive and normotensive subjects with no sign of structural damage at conventional neuroimaging and no dementia diagnosis on neuropsychological assessment. The anterior thalamic radiation, the superior longitudinal fasciculus, and the forceps minor were found to be significantly altered in hypertensive patients. Unlike conventional neuroimaging, WM fiber-tracking on MRI showed an early signature of damage in hypertensive patients. This approach could help limit the transition to dementia and neurodegeneration by identifying patients still in the initial stages of brain damage.