OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between asymptomatic carotid stenosis, neuropsychological test performance, and silent MRI lesions. METHODS: Performance on several neuropsychological tests was compared in 189 subjects with ultrasound-assessed carotid stenosis and 201 control subjects without carotid stenosis, recruited from a population health study. Subjects with a previous history of stroke were excluded. The test battery included tests of attention, psychomotor speed, memory, language, speed of information processing, motor functioning, intelligence, and depression. Sagittal T1-weighted and axial and coronal T2-weighted spin echo MRI was performed, and presence of MRI lesions (white matter hyperintensities, lacunar and cortical infarcts) was recorded. RESULTS: Subjects with carotid stenosis had significantly lower levels of performance in tests of attention, psychomotor speed, memory, and motor functioning, independent of MRI lesions. There were no significant differences in tests of speed of information processing, word association, or depression. Cortical infarcts and white matter hyperintensities were equally distributed among persons with and without carotid stenosis. Lacunar infarcts were more frequent in the stenosis group (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Carotid stenosis was associated with poorer neuropsychological performance. This could not be explained by a higher proportion of silent MRI lesions in persons with asymptomatic carotid stenosis, making it less likely that the cognitive impairment was caused by silent emboli.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between asymptomatic carotid stenosis, neuropsychological test performance, and silent MRI lesions. METHODS: Performance on several neuropsychological tests was compared in 189 subjects with ultrasound-assessed carotid stenosis and 201 control subjects without carotid stenosis, recruited from a population health study. Subjects with a previous history of stroke were excluded. The test battery included tests of attention, psychomotor speed, memory, language, speed of information processing, motor functioning, intelligence, and depression. Sagittal T1-weighted and axial and coronal T2-weighted spin echo MRI was performed, and presence of MRI lesions (white matter hyperintensities, lacunar and cortical infarcts) was recorded. RESULTS: Subjects with carotid stenosis had significantly lower levels of performance in tests of attention, psychomotor speed, memory, and motor functioning, independent of MRI lesions. There were no significant differences in tests of speed of information processing, word association, or depression. Cortical infarcts and white matter hyperintensities were equally distributed among persons with and without carotid stenosis. Lacunar infarcts were more frequent in the stenosis group (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Carotid stenosis was associated with poorer neuropsychological performance. This could not be explained by a higher proportion of silent MRI lesions in persons with asymptomatic carotid stenosis, making it less likely that the cognitive impairment was caused by silent emboli.
Authors: Howard A Crystal; Jeremy Weedon; Susan Holman; Jennifer Manly; Victor Valcour; Mardge Cohen; Kathryn Anastos; Chenglong Liu; Wendy J Mack; Elizabeth Golub; Jason Lazar; Ann Ho; Mary Jeanne Kreek; Robert C Kaplan Journal: J Neurovirol Date: 2011-10-18 Impact factor: 2.643
Authors: José R Romero; Alexa Beiser; Sudha Seshadri; Emelia J Benjamin; Joseph F Polak; Ramachandran S Vasan; Rhoda Au; Charles DeCarli; Philip A Wolf Journal: Stroke Date: 2009-03-05 Impact factor: 7.914
Authors: Deborah E Barnes; Thaddeus J Haight; Kala M Mehta; Michelle C Carlson; Lewis H Kuller; Ira B Tager Journal: Am J Epidemiol Date: 2010-01-05 Impact factor: 4.897
Authors: A S Turk; I Chaudry; V M Haughton; B P Hermann; H A Rowley; K Pulfer; B Aagaard-Kienitz; D B Niemann; P A Turski; R L Levine; C M Strother Journal: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol Date: 2007-11-07 Impact factor: 3.825
Authors: E Hattingen; H Lanfermann; S Menon; T Neumann-Haefelin; R DuMesnil de Rochement; M Stamelou; G U Höglinger; J Magerkurth; U Pilatus Journal: MAGMA Date: 2008-10-15 Impact factor: 2.310
Authors: F Gaudiello; V Colangelo; F Bolacchi; M Melis; R Gandini; F G Garaci; V Cozzolino; R Floris; G Simonetti Journal: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol Date: 2008-02-22 Impact factor: 3.825