Prognostic significance of white matter changes in a memory clinic population.
Psychiatry Res
; 122(3): 199-206, 2003 Apr 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-12694894
ABSTRACT
Non-specific white matter changes (WMC) can be seen on neuroimaging of the brain in healthy elderly but are more common in dementia. WMC are correlated to specific cognitive deficits and might also contribute to global cognitive decline. The value of WMC as a predictor of cognitive impairment has been incompletely elucidated. We studied the prognostic significance of extensive WMC in a group of patients with memory disturbances, to evaluate if the presence of such changes predicts a poorer outcome. We retrospectively selected a group of 24 patients with prominent WMC on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and with different grades of memory impairment. We matched each patient, with regard to age, education, length of follow-up, initial score on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and initial diagnosis, to a patient without white matter pathology. The matched pairs were evaluated and the decrease in MMSE score after follow-up (range 2-4 years) was used as the outcome measure. Results showed no difference in the decrease in MMSE score at follow-up between patients with or without WMC. In conclusion, the presence of WMC in cognitively impaired patients had no effect on the progression rate of dementia, as measured by MMSE decline.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Encéfalo
/
Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética
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Demência
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Transtornos da Memória
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
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Observational_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2003
Tipo de documento:
Article