Impact of imaging development upon leukoaraiosis detection in a group of vascular patients

Abstract

This study was performed on a group of 50 patients admitted in 2008 in the Neurology Department, Emergency Hospital Constanta, whose cerebral MRI revealed leukoaraiosis. Our purpose was to correlate leukoaraiosis with associated vascular pathologies. With the help of brain MRI leukoaraiosis was classified in 4 stages, according to severity and extension (Brand-Zawadzki). Stage II was present frequently in patients with acute stroke. Stage III was in patients with chronic vascular lesions. Stage IV in our studied group was found in those with Binswanger disease. We found that severity of leukoaraiosis increased with age. The severity of neurologic symptoms was in direct correlation with the severity of leukoaraiosis. We also found that leukoaraiosis is a risk factor for cognitive decline, and in our study was associated with brain atrophy in 66% of the cases. Presence of leukoaraiosis was also associated with increased risk of stroke recurrence, in our study the recurrence of stroke occurring in half of the cases.

Keywords

• leukoaraiosis
• vascular lesions
• prognosis
• cognitive decline