Relationship between White Matter Lesions and Progression of Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's Disease
Open Access
- 29 March 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by S. Karger AG in Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra
- Vol. 3 (1), 96-101
- https://doi.org/10.1159/000350317
Abstract
Background: This study examined the relationship between baseline white matter lesions (WMLs) and the progression of cognitive decline in patients with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: Fifty-six patients with AD were included in the study (23 men, 33 women; mean age, 77.8 years). All subjects were treated with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and followed up for approximately 1 year. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was assessed at least twice to evaluate the progressive cognitive impairment. All subjects underwent brain MRI at baseline and were divided into WMLs(-), mild WMLs(+), and moderate WMLs(+) groups based on WML severity. Changes in MMSE scores between baseline and follow-up were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: MMSE scores at baseline did not differ significantly among the three groups (p = 0.1658), whereas MMSE scores at the follow-up evaluation were significantly lower in the moderate WMLs(+) group than in the WMLs(-) group (p = 0.0257). The mean MMSE scores remained above baseline values during the approximately 1-year follow-up in the WMLs(-) group, whereas they were decreased in the mild and moderate WMLs(+) groups. Moreover, the frequency of improvement in patients from the WMLs(-) group tended to be higher than that in patients from the WMLs(+) groups. Conclusion: Baseline WMLs may be associated with the heterogeneous progression of cognitive decline in patients with AD.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- The progression of cognitive deterioration and regional cerebral blood flow patterns in Alzheimer's disease: A longitudinal SPECT studyJournal of the Neurological Sciences, 2010
- Cognitive impairment riskNeurology, 2009
- SPECT Follow-Up Study of Cerebral Blood Flow Changes During Donepezil Therapy in Patients with Alzheimer's DiseaseJournal of Neuroimaging, 2006
- White Matter Lesions Are Prevalent but Differentially Related With Cognition in Aging and Early Alzheimer DiseaseArchives of Neurology, 2005
- Links Between the Pathology of Alzheimer's Disease and Vascular DementiaNeurochemical Research, 2004
- Degenerative and vascular lesions of the brain have synergistic effects in dementia of the elderlyActa Neuropathologica, 2002
- White matter magnetic resonance hyperintensities in dementia of the Alzheimer type: morphological and regional cerebral blood flow correlates.Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1994
- Improved Recognition of Leukoaraiosis and Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer's DiseaseArchives of Neurology, 1991
- MR signal abnormalities at 1.5 T in Alzheimer's dementia and normal agingAmerican Journal of Roentgenology, 1987
- A white matter disorder in dementia of the Alzheimer type: A pathoanatomical studyAnnals of Neurology, 1986