Progressive dementia, visual deficits, amyotrophy, and microinfarcts.

Data from three patients and 22 previously reported cases suggest that cerebral microinfarction causes a recognizable clinical syndrome. All cases present with stroke, followed by progressive dementia and often with visual field deficits, peripheral vascular disease, and signs of motor neuron dysfunction. The average age at onset is 45, and most patients have been men. Many patients have had valvular or ischemic heart disease; in one of our cases, mitral stenosis caused embolic microinfarcts.