Cerebral infarcts and cognitive performance: importance of location and number of infarcts
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebral infarcts increase the risk for cognitive impairment. The relevance of location and number of infarcts with respect to cognitive function is less clear. METHODS: We studied the cross-sectional association between number and location of infarcts and cognitive performan...
Published in: | Stroke |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2022
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.108.530212 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/39420 https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/oapubs/2215 |
Summary: | BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebral infarcts increase the risk for cognitive impairment. The relevance of location and number of infarcts with respect to cognitive function is less clear. METHODS: We studied the cross-sectional association between number and location of infarcts and cognitive performance in 4030 nondemented participants of the Age Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study. Composite scores for memory, processing speed, and executive function were created from a neuropsychological battery. Subcortical, cortical, and cerebellar infarcts were identified on brain MRI. We performed linear regression analyses adjusted for demographic and vascular risk factors, depression, white matter lesions, and atrophy. RESULTS: Compared to participants with no infarcts, those with infarcts in multiple locations (n=287, 7%) had slower processing speed (beta=-0.19; PCONCLUSIONS: Having infarcts in >1 location is associated with poor performance in memory, processing speed, and executive function, independent of cardiovascular comorbidities, white matter lesions, and brain atrophy, suggesting that both the number and the distribution of infarcts jointly contribute to cognitive impairment. |
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