Abstract: Objective To study the reliability of the four rating scales which are widely used. Methods 260 consecutive inpatients fromAug. 2007 to Oct. 2008 with white matter lesions were enrolled into the study. Interrater and intrarater reliability of four scales was analyzedby using kappa correlation. Internal consistency was expressed with Cronbach's α. Results All the scales have statistic significant interraterand intrarater reliability. Scale of Ylikoski has the best intrarater reliability and Cranach's α (intrarater reliability, kappa=0.656, P<0.01, Cranach'sα=0.901). Conclusion The four rating scales for white matter lesions have advantage and disadvantage. Disparate rating scales shouldbe used according to purpose of study.

Key words: white matter lesion, rating scale, reliability