Genetics of subcortical vascular dementia

► We review the genetics of MRI correlates of subcortical vascular dementia (sVaD). ► MRI correlates of sVaD includes white matter lesions, lacunes and microbleeds. ► White matter lesions are highly heritable. ► SNPs in APOE, NOTCH3 and the renin-angiotensin system are associated with sVaD. ► The first gemone wide association study identifies novel genes on chromosome 17.