Cognitive and balance impairments in people with incidental white matter hyperintensities

The Egyptian Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery

Amr El Sayed Ali Mohamed Tag Eldin¹  Naglaa Lotfy Dabees¹  Hazem Abd El-Rahman Fayed¹  Wafik Said Bahnasy¹ 

[1] The Departments of Neuropsychiatry, and Diagnostic Radiology, Tanta University Hospitals, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, zip code 31527, Tanta, Egypt;

关键词: White matter hyperintensities;    Posturography;    Cognitive impairment;    DTT;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s41983-020-00228-6

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundWhite matter hyperintensities (WMHs) is the most frequent type of cerebral small vessel diseases and a common incidental finding in MRI films of the geriatric population. The objectives of this work were to study the existence of occult cognitive and balance impairments in subjects with accidentally discovered WMHs.MethodsThe study was conducted on 44 subjects with accidentally discovered WMHs and 24 non-WMHs subjects submitted to the advanced activity of daily living scale (AADLs), a neurocognitive battery assessing different cognitive domains, Berg balance test (BBT), computerized dynamic posturography (CDP), and brain MRI diffusion tensor tractography (DTT).ResultsWMHs subjects showed a significant decrease in AADLs as well as visual and vestibular ratios of CDP. Regarding the neurocognitive battery, there were significant decreases in MoCA as well as arithmetic test and block design of Wechsler adult intelligence scale-IV in WMHs compared to non-WMHs subjects’ groups (p value < 0.001). Concerning Wisconsin Card Sorting subtests, each preservative response, preservative errors, non-preservative errors and trials to complete the 1st category showed a highly significant increase in WMHs compared to non-WMHs subjects (p values < 0.001). DTT showed a substantial reduction in fractional anisotropy (FA) of each corticospinal tract, thalamocortical connectivity, and arcuate fasciculi.ConclusionSubjects with WMHs have lower cognitive performance and subtle balance impairment which greatly impair their ADLs.

【 授权许可】

CC BY