Quantitative and qualitative MRI evaluation of cerebral small vessel disease in an elderly population: a longitudinal study.

Background Cerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), lacunes, and microbleeds are seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in small vessel disease (SVD). Purpose To assess SVD on MRI and its evolution over five years in an elderly population and to investigate whether relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF) at baseline was related to the progression of white matter (WM) lesions. Material and Methods In a population-based study, 406 participants aged 75 years underwent morphological MRI of the brain and 252 of them again at age 80 years. At age 75 years, a perfusion scan was also done. WMHs were evaluated qualitatively (visual scoring) and quantitatively (CASCADE software). Lacunes and microbleeds were counted. Results A significant progression of the WMH score and WMH volume occurred over five years ( P < 0.0001). New lacunes were seen in 10%. Participants with new lacunes at age 80 years showed a more pronounced increase in WMHs (P < 0.0001). Microbleeds were present in 14% at age 75 years. The visual WMH score was significantly associated with the presence of microbleeds ( P < 0.0001). There was no relationship between total WM rCBF and WMH volume at age 75 years, and no significant associations between regional or total rCBF at age 75 years and changes in WMH volume over five years. The total WM and GM volume decreased significantly between the ages of 75 and 80 years ( P < 0.0001). Conclusion MRI manifestations of SVD progressed over five years in an elderly population (age range = 75-80 years). rCBF was not associated with WMH volume or progression of WMH volume.

Relation between cardiovascular disease risk markers and brain infarcts detected by magnetic resonance imaging in an elderly population.

BACKGROUND: Established cardiovascular risk markers, such as hypertension, are associated with increased risk of brain infarcts. The newer markers N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, troponin I, C-reactive protein, and cystatin C may affect the risk of cardiovascular events and potentially, thereby, also stroke. We investigated the association between established and new risk markers for cardiovascular disease and brain infarcts detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at age 75. METHODS: Four hundred six randomly selected subjects from the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors study were examined with MRI of the brain at age 75. Blood samples, measurements, and dedicated questionnaires at age 70 were used for analysis of risk markers. A history of diseases had been obtained at age 70 and 75. MRI was evaluated regarding lacunar and cortical infarcts. Univariate associations between outcomes and risk markers were assessed with logistic regression models. RESULTS: One or more infarcts were seen in 23% of the subjects (20% had only lacunar infarcts, 1% had only cortical infarcts, and 2% had both). Hypertension (odds ratio [OR] 2.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4, 4.7) and obesity (OR 1.3; CI 1.0, 1.8) were significantly associated with increased risk of brain infarction. The newer risk markers were not significantly associated with the brain infarcts. CONCLUSIONS: The new markers were not associated with the predominantly lacunar infarcts in our 75-year-old population, why troponin I and NT-proBNP may be associated mainly with cardioembolic infarcts as shown recently.

Susac's Syndrome: A Case Presentation and Radiological Approach to this Rare Autoimmune Endotheliopathy.

Susac's syndrome is an uncommon neurologic disorder, consisting of the clinical triad of encephalopathy, branch retinal artery occlusions, and hearing loss. We report a case of a sudden vision and hearing impairment in a 35-year-old female patient. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed multiple lesions in the white matter and the corpus callosum, typical of Susac's syndrome.

Superficial siderosis: a case report.

Superficial siderosis of the central nervous system is the result of chronic recurrent hemorrhages (e.g., arteriovenous malformations, tumors, or trauma), which leads to the accumulation of cytotoxic hemosiderin and presents with hearing loss, cerebellar dysfunction, and myelopathy. This article presents a clinical case of an 11-year-old boy in whom the diagnosis of medulloblastoma was established. He underwent surgery, and after a few years, he began to complain of hearing loss. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed the cause of the hearing disturbance. The aim of this article is to review the recent literature related to the etiology, clinical and radiologic features of superficial siderosis, emphasizing the role of magnetic resonance imaging.

Small Vessel Disease on Neuroimaging in a 75-Year-Old Cohort (PIVUS): Comparison With Cognitive and Executive Tests.

Background and Purpose: Signs of small vessel disease (SVD) are commonly seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain in cognitively healthy elderly individuals, and the clinical relevance of these are often unclear. We have previously described three different MRI manifestations of SVD as well as cerebral perfusion in a longitudinal study of non-demented 75-year-old subjects. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationship of these findings to cognition and executive function at age 75 and changes after 5 years. Methods: In all, 406 subjects from the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study were examined with MRI of the brain at age 75 years. Two-hundred and fifty of the subjects were re-examined 5 years later. White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and lacunar infarcts (LIs) were assessed on both occasions, but microbleeds (MBs) and perfusion only at age 75. Cognitive function was screened by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Trail Making Test A and B (TMT-A and TMT-B) were performed at baseline and at follow-up at age 80. Results: At baseline, 93% performed >27 points in the MMSE. The TMT-B at age 75 was significantly related to WMH visual scoring after adjustment for sex, education and cerebrovascular disease risk factors (+80 s (95% CI 0.3-161 s), P < 0.05 for grade 2-3 vs. grade 0). Neither MMSE nor TMT-A was significantly related to WMH scoring. There was no relation between any test performance and WMH volume, white matter volume, number of MBs or brain perfusion at age 75. Subjects who had sustained a new LI (n = 26) showed a greater increase of the time to perform TMT-A at the 5-year follow-up (+25 s vs. +4 s in LI-free subjects, P = 0.003). Changes in MMSE or TMT-A and -B test performance between ages 75 and 80 were not related to changes in WMH scoring or volume during the 5 years follow-up, or to brain perfusion at age 75. Conclusion: In this cognitively healthy community-based population, moderate-severe WMHs and incident LIs on brain MRI in individuals aged 75-80 years were associated with a mild impairment of processing speed and executive function.

Endothelium-dependent vasodilation is related to the occurrence of cortical brain infarcts at MR imaging: The Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study.

BACKGROUND: Infarcts in the brain can be divided into larger cortical and smaller deep lacunar infarcts. The pathogenesis differs between these two types of infarctions. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the relationship between measures of endothelium-dependent vasodilation (EDV) and occurrence of cortical and lacunar infarcts in a population-based sample. METHODS: In the Prospective Study of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study, 1016 subjects aged 70 were evaluated by the invasive forearm technique with acetylcholine (EDV) and brachial artery ultrasound to assess flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD). Six to seven years later MRI of the brain was performed, and the prevalence of cortical and lacunar infarcts was visually assessed in 407 randomly selected subjects. RESULTS: Lacunar infarcts were found in 22% and cortical infarcts in 5·9% of the subjects. EDV and FMD were both significantly related to the occurrence of cortical, but not lacunar infarcts. In a model adjusting for gender, waist circumference, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, HDL and LDL cholesterol, serum triglycerides, smoking, antihypertensive treatment and statin use, both EDV and FMD were independent predictors of cortical infarcts (P = 0·035 and P = 0·008, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Endothelium-dependent vasodilation in both forearm resistance vessels and the brachial artery was related to the occurrence of cortical, but not lacunar, infarcts at MRI in a population-based sample independently of traditional risk factors.

Plasma parathyroid hormone is associated with vascular dementia and cerebral hyperintensities in two community-based cohorts.

CONTEXT: In diseases with increased PTH such as hyperparathyroidism and chronic renal failure, dementia is common. Little is known of PTH and dementia in the community. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate relations between PTH, clinical dementia and cerebral micro-vascular disease. SETTING AND DESIGN: The Uppsala Longitudinal Study Of Adult Men (ULSAM) was prospective, baseline, 1991-1995; followup, 15.8 years. The Prospective Investigation Of The Vasculature In Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) was cross-sectional, baseline, 2001. Both settings were community based. PARTICIPANTS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: In the ULSAM study of 998 men (age 71) the association between PTH and dementia was investigated. In the PIVUS study of 406 men and women (age 70) the relation between PTH and magnetic resonance imaging signs of cerebral small vascular disease was investigated. RESULTS: During followup, 56 individuals were diagnosed with vascular, 91 with Alzheimer's, and 59 with other dementias. In Cox-regression analyses, higher PTH was associated with vascular dementia (hazard ratio per 1 SD increase of PTH, 1.41; P < .01), but not with other dementias. The top tertile of PTH accounted for 18.5% of the population-attributable risk for vascular dementia, exceeding all other risk factors. In linear regression analysis in PIVUS, PTH was associated with increasing white matter hyperintensities (WMHI), reflecting increasing burden of cerebral small vessel disease (1 SD PTH increase, 0.31 higher category of WMHI; P = .016). All models were adjusted for vascular risk factors and mineral metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: In two community-based samples, PTH predicted clinically diagnosed vascular dementia as well as neuroimaging indices of cerebral small vessel disease. Our data suggest a role for PTH in the development of vascular dementia.

Impaired insulin sensitivity as indexed by the HOMA score is associated with deficits in verbal fluency and temporal lobe gray matter volume in the elderly.

OBJECTIVE: Impaired insulin sensitivity is linked to cognitive deficits and reduced brain size. However, it is not yet known whether insulin sensitivity involves regional changes in gray matter volume. Against this background, we examined the association between insulin sensitivity, cognitive performance, and regional gray matter volume in 285 cognitively healthy elderly men and women aged 75 years from the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Insulin sensitivity was calculated from fasting serum insulin and plasma glucose determinations using the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) method. Cognitive performance was examined by a categorical verbal fluency. Participants also underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan. Multivariate analysis using linear regression was conducted, controlling for potential confounders (sex, education, serum LDL cholesterol, mean arterial blood pressure, and abdominal visceral fat volume). RESULTS: The HOMA-IR was negatively correlated with verbal fluency performance, brain size, and temporal lobe gray matter volume in regions known to be involved in speech production (Brodmann areas 21 and 22, respectively). No such effects were observed when examining diabetic (n = 55) and cognitively impaired (n = 27) elderly subjects as separate analyses. CONCLUSIONS: These cross-sectional findings suggest that both pharmacologic and lifestyle interventions improving insulin signaling may promote brain health in late life but must be confirmed in patient studies.

Prevalence of unrecognized myocardial infarction detected with magnetic resonance imaging and its relationship to cerebral ischemic lesions in both sexes.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of unrecognized myocardial infarction (UMI) detected with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and whether it is related to cerebral ischemic lesions on MRI in an elderly population-based cohort. BACKGROUND: There is a correlation between stroke and recognized myocardial infarction (RMI) and between stroke and UMI detected with electrocardiography, whereas the prevalence of stroke in subjects with MRI-detected UMI is unknown. METHODS: Cerebral MRI and cardiac late-enhancement MRI were performed on 394 randomly selected 75-year-old subjects (188 women, 206 men). Images were assessed for cerebral ischemic lesions and myocardial infarction (MI) scars. Medical records were scrutinized. Subjects with MI scars, with or without a hospital diagnosis of MI, were classified as RMI or UMI, respectively. RESULTS: UMIs were found in 120 subjects (30%) and RMIs in 21 (5%). The prevalence of UMIs (p = 0.004) and RMIs (p = 0.02) was greater in men than in women. Men with RMI displayed an increased prevalence of cortical and lacunar cerebral infarctions, whereas women with UMI more frequently had cortical cerebral infarctions (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: MI scars are more frequent in men than in women at 75 years of age. The prevalence of RMI is related to that of cerebral infarctions.