ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the risk factors and investigate the intracranial vascular characteristics in elderly patients with WSI. Methods According to imaging features of DWI,56 cases of WSI were divided into CWSI,IWSI and MWSI group. Distribution of intracranial vascular le?sions in different groups was compared. The degree of middle cerebral artery(MCA)and internal carotid artery(ICA)stenosis in different types of WSI was investigated. Results Among 56 cases,85.7%of them had a history of hypertension,53.6%had diabetes,62.5%had hyperlipoidemia, 51.8%had coronary heart disease(CHD),51.8%had smoking,and 73.2%of them had two or more risk factors. Totally 11 cases(19.6%)of them were cortical watershed infarction(CWSI),13(23.2%)of them were interior watershed infarction(IWSI),and 32(57.1%)of them were mixed cerebral watershed infarction(MWSI). Among all the patients,the incidence of MCA stenosis(37.5%)and ICA stenosis(53.6%)were signifi?cantly higher than the other intracranial vessels(χ2=37.188,P<0.001). The incidence of MCA stenosis in IWSI group was significant higher than CWSI and MWSI group(χ2=12.00,P<0.01). The incidence of ICA stenosis in MWSI group was significantly higher than CWSI group and IWSI group(χ2=11.10,P<0.01). Among all the patients,17 of them had severe stenosis or occlusion in MCA(30.4%),and 22 of them had severe ste?nosis or occlusion in ICA(39.3%). The incidence of severe stenosis or occlusion in MCA(58.8%)was significant higher in IWSI group(χ2=7.588,P<0.05)and those in ICA was significantly higher in MWSI group(χ2=7.091,P<0.05). Conclusion MWSI is more common in elderly patients with WSI. Most of the patients have more than one risk factors such as hypertension,diabetes,hyperlipoidemia,CHD and smoking. MCA and ICA lesions are more common than other intracranial vessels in elderly patients. IWSI is closely related with severe stenosis and occlusion of MCA,while MWSI is closely related with severe stenosis and occlusion of ICA.