Cognitive and emotional impairments in men and women with dyscirculatory encephalopathy

Abstract

Neuropsychological, ultrasonographic, and neuroimaging characteristics were comparatively analyzed in 72 women (mean age 64.3±1.0 years) and 48 age- and education-matched men (mean age 65.0±1.2 years) with early manifestations of dyscirculatory encephalopathy (DE). It was shown that there was a preponderance of cognitive impairments (mainly those of attention, verbal memory, and praxis) in the men with DE and that of emotional and insomniac disorders in the women. A probable relationship was found between the decreased serum level of cerebral neutrotrophic factor and the degree of depression and cognitive impairments in the patients with DE, in the men in particular. The findings may be of importance for individualized therapy.

Keywords

• sex
• dyscirculatory encephalopathy
• cognitive impairments
• emotional impairments
• cerebral neurotrophic factor