Raffaella Valenti1, Alessandra Del Bene1, Anna Poggesi1, Andrea Ginestroni2, Emilia Salvadori1, Giovanni Pracucci1, Laura Ciolli3, Sandro Marini1, Serena Nannucci1, Marco Pasi1, Francesca Pescini4, Stefano Diciotti5, Giovanni Orlandi6, Mirco Cosottini7, Alberto Chiti6, Mario Mascalchi2, Ubaldo Bonuccelli6, Domenico Inzitari1, Leonardo Pantoni8. 1. NEUROFARBA Department, Neuroscience Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. 2. 'Mario Serio' Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. 3. Division of Neurology, Azienda ULSS 15 "Alta Padovana", Camposampiero Hospital, Padua, Italy. 4. Stroke Unit and Neurology, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, Florence, Italy. 5. Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering 'Guglielmo Marconi', University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy. 6. Department of Neurosciences, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. 7. Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. 8. NEUROFARBA Department, Neuroscience Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. Electronic address: leonardo.pantoni@unifi.it.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are a neuroimaging expression of small vessel disease (SVD). We investigated in a cohort of SVD patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI): 1) the reliability of the Microbleed Anatomical Rating Scale (MARS); 2) the burden and location of CMBs and their association with cognitive performances, independent of other clinical and neuroimaging features. METHODS: Patients underwent clinical, neuropsychological (4 cognitive domains), and MRI assessments. CMBs were assessed by three raters. RESULTS: Out of the 152 patients (57.2% males; mean age±SD: 75.5±6.7years) with gradient-echo (GRE) sequences, 41 (27%) had at least one CMB. Inter-rater agreement for number and location of CMBs ranged from good to very good [multi-rater Fleiss kappa (95%CI): 0.70-0.95]. Lacunar infarcts and some clinical variables (e.g., hypertension and physical activity) were associated with CMBs in specific regions. Total number of CMBs and of those in deep and lobar regions were associated with attention/executive and fluency domains. DISCUSSION: MARS is a reliable instrument to assess CMBs in SVD patients with MCI. Nearly one third of these patients had at least one CMB. Total CMBs burden was associated with attention/executive functions and fluency domains impairment, lacunar infarcts, and with some potentially modifiable risk factors.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are a neuroimaging expression of small vessel disease (SVD). We investigated in a cohort of SVDpatients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI): 1) the reliability of the Microbleed Anatomical Rating Scale (MARS); 2) the burden and location of CMBs and their association with cognitive performances, independent of other clinical and neuroimaging features. METHODS:Patients underwent clinical, neuropsychological (4 cognitive domains), and MRI assessments. CMBs were assessed by three raters. RESULTS: Out of the 152 patients (57.2% males; mean age±SD: 75.5±6.7years) with gradient-echo (GRE) sequences, 41 (27%) had at least one CMB. Inter-rater agreement for number and location of CMBs ranged from good to very good [multi-rater Fleiss kappa (95%CI): 0.70-0.95]. Lacunar infarcts and some clinical variables (e.g., hypertension and physical activity) were associated with CMBs in specific regions. Total number of CMBs and of those in deep and lobar regions were associated with attention/executive and fluency domains. DISCUSSION: MARS is a reliable instrument to assess CMBs in SVDpatients with MCI. Nearly one third of these patients had at least one CMB. Total CMBs burden was associated with attention/executive functions and fluency domains impairment, lacunar infarcts, and with some potentially modifiable risk factors.
Authors: Astrid Suchy-Dicey; Dean Shibata; Brenna Cholerton; Lonnie Nelson; Darren Calhoun; Tauqeer Ali; Thomas J Montine; W T Longstreth; Dedra Buchwald; Steven P Verney Journal: J Int Neuropsychol Soc Date: 2019-12-03 Impact factor: 2.892
Authors: Stephanie Taylor; Eslam Mehina; Emily White; Patrick Reeson; Kevin Yongblah; Kristian P Doyle; Craig E Brown Journal: J Neurosci Date: 2018-09-10 Impact factor: 6.167