MMP9 and Brain atrophy: Finally, although the statistical analysis revealed a weak correlation between the inflammatory factors IL-18 and MMP-9 and the outcome variable, with standardized path/regression coefficients of 0.122 and 0.134, respectively, other well-recognized indicators, such as brain atrophy, white matter hyperintensity, and previous stroke, showed coefficients of 0.149, 0.119, and 0.128, respectively.