Cognitive Dysfunction in Relation to Topography and Burden of Cerebral Microbleeds

• Published in: Noro-Psikiyatri Arsivi 2018-03, Vol.55 (1), p.84-90
• Main Authors: Büyükşerbetçi, Gülseren, Saka, Esen, Oğuz, Kader Karli, Göçmen, Rahşan, Arsava, Ethem Murat, Topçuoğlu, Mehmet Akif
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; Brain research; Cholinergic mechanisms; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive ability; Cognitive disorders; Complications and side effects; Dementia; Health aspects; Intracerebral hemorrhage; Medical imaging; Memory; Neurology; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Risk factors; Stroke; Studies; Topography
• ISSN: 1300-0667; 1309-4866
• DOI: 10.29399/npa.23018

Contribution of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) on cognitive dysfunctions in elderly patients with otherwise asymptomatic white matter lesions (WMLs) is not well-documented. MRI parameters of cerebral atrophy, CMBs and WMLs were herein analyzed in relation to global and main domains (attention, executive, memory, visuospatial, language) of cognitive function. Eighty-five patients older than 50, without neurodegenerative/cerebrovascular disease, but had CMBs were recruited from 2562 with T2*-gradient-echo MR imaging during one-year period. Global cognition, evaluated by mini-mental status examination (MMSE), was impaired (score ≤24) in 42%. In contrast to CMBs load, WML burden and temporal atrophy were significantly higher in cases with MMSE≤24. Cholinergic Pathways HyperIntensities Scale (CHIPS) was positively correlated with global cognitive dysfunction but its CMB counterpart, Cholinergic Pathways Bleeding Scale described herein, was not. However, burden of CMBs in thalamic/cortical regions predicted language dysfunction. Cognitive dysfunction associated with CMBs may be dependent on their distribution rather than their absolute number.