[Anatomo-clinical observation of atherosclerotic subcortical encephalopathy ("Binswanger's disease") with hypodensity of the white matter on brain scan].

A 54 year-old hypertensive female patient presented dementia evolving progressively over a four-year period in association with motor deficiency and asymmetric pyramidal signs. The scan showed diffuse hypodensity of the white matter without enhancement. Brain biopsy indicated a diagnosis of subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy; this was later confirmed by the post-mortem examination. On the strength of data from the literature, the authors draw attention to the frequency of this syndrome in hypertensive patients. They outline the main clinical characteristics and demonstrate the importance of the scan.