Carotid artery stenting ameliorates the cognitive impairment in patients with leukoaraiosis, the ischemic change of cerebral white matter.

Leukoaraiosis (LA) is a leading cause of gait disturbance in the elderly and well known as a type of cerebrovascular diseases. LA is mainly caused by the focal ischemic damage in cerebral white matter. Cognitive impairment in patients with LA is difficult to treat. Carotid artery stenting (CAS) has been reported to improve the cognitive function in patients with cognitive impairment. However, whether CAS can ameliorate the cognitive impairment in patients with LA remains unknown. To address this problem, we prospectively enrolled 105 LA patients with carotid stenosis and 206 healthy subjects, who are free of carotid artery stenosis and brain diseases or injuries, as the control. Neuropsychological functions were tested in these LA patients before and after 1-, 6- and 12-month CAS, and compared with the data of control subjects. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised China (WAIS-RC) scores were lower in LA patients than those in healthy controls (P < 0.05), indicating the cognitive impairment in the LA patients. Compared with the scores before CAS, there is a time-dependent increase in MMSE and WAIS-RC scores after 1-, 6- and 12-month CAS (P < 0.05). Moreover, CAS treatment reduced Clinical Dementia Rating scale in LA patients. The cognitive impairment of LA patients with carotid stenosis was severe, but their cognitive impairment was ameliorated with carotid stenosis (P < 0.01). Thus, CAS can improve cognitive function of the LA patients with carotid stenosis.