PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between retinal vascular obstruction and asymptomatic cerebral infarction (ACI). METHODS: Forty-three patients (27 men and 16 women) with retinal vascular obstruction were examined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the Department of Ophthalmology of Nagasaki University Hospital in Nagasaki, Japan. Patients with a history of neurological signs and symptoms were excluded from this study. The control group consisted of 93 male and 49 female patients who were examined by MRI for routine brain screening examinations at the Takaki Neurosurgical Clinic in Fukuoka, Japan. We investigated the incidence of ACI, and the risk factors and characteristics of this condition. RESULTS: ACI was more common in patients with retinal vascular obstruction than in normal adults at all ages. The incidence of hypertension in the patients with ACI tended to be higher than in the patients without ACI. CONCLUSION: ACI appears more frequently in patients with retinal vascular obstruction than in normal adults. Our results indicate that either retinal artery occlusion or retinal vein occlusion should be considered a sign of ACI and systemic diseases such as arteriosclerosis.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between retinal vascular obstruction and asymptomatic cerebral infarction (ACI). METHODS: Forty-three patients (27 men and 16 women) with retinal vascular obstruction were examined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the Department of Ophthalmology of Nagasaki University Hospital in Nagasaki, Japan. Patients with a history of neurological signs and symptoms were excluded from this study. The control group consisted of 93 male and 49 female patients who were examined by MRI for routine brain screening examinations at the Takaki Neurosurgical Clinic in Fukuoka, Japan. We investigated the incidence of ACI, and the risk factors and characteristics of this condition. RESULTS: ACI was more common in patients with retinal vascular obstruction than in normal adults at all ages. The incidence of hypertension in the patients with ACI tended to be higher than in the patients without ACI. CONCLUSION: ACI appears more frequently in patients with retinal vascular obstruction than in normal adults. Our results indicate that either retinal artery occlusion or retinal vein occlusion should be considered a sign of ACI and systemic diseases such as arteriosclerosis.