White matter changes (WMCs) are frequent in the elderly population and are associated with the transition from a healthy and independent status to disability and dependency. Factors such as decreased mobility, mood changes, presence of vascular risk factors, and impairment in cognition are responsible for this transition. The last decade has brought a high number of studies that tried to identify the mechanisms that underline the relation between WMC and functional impairment. This increased interest on WMC led us to new perspectives on early diagnosis, evaluation (clinical, imaging, and neuropsychological), and intervention.

We would like to invite authors to submit original studies and research articles, as well as review articles, that will contribute to the understanding of the relation between WMC and dependency among the elderly. We are particularly interested in new approaches on early diagnosis and evaluation of progression and, specially, on pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions including therapies directed to family members or caregivers. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Epidemiology: prevalence and risk factors
• Diagnosis: clinical features (motor, mood, urinary and cognitive characteristics, and disability), neuropsychological evaluation (instruments and interpretation of the results), and radiological aspects (instruments and rating methods)
• Intervention: prevention and control of risk factors (evidence based) and nonpharmacological therapies directed to the patient and the family
• Future perspectives: special attention will be given to future directions on intervention (data from existing publications including basic science approaches) and use of new imaging techniques

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: