Correlation of enlarged perivascular spaces with post-stroke cognitive impairment in patients with acute mild stroke / 中华神经医学杂志

Objective:To investigate the relations between enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS) and cognitive impairment in patients with acute mild ischemic stroke.Methods:A total of 234 patients with acute mild ischemic stroke admitted to our hospital from October 2019 to June 2021 were chosen in our study. According to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores 7 d after admission, these patients were divided into normal cognitive function group (MoCA scores≥26) and cognitive impairment group (MoCA scores<26). The clinical data and imaging data of patients from the 2 groups were compared. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent influencing factors for post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). Spearman correlation analysis was performed to analyze the correlations of severity degrees of EPVS of basal ganglia with MoCA total scores and each cognitive domain scores in patients from cognitive impairment group.Results:Among the 234 patients, 73 (31.2%) had normal cognitive function and 161 (68.8%) had cognitive impairment. As compared with normal cognitive function group, patients from cognitive impairment group had significantly older age, significantly less years of education, statistically higher fasting blood glucose level, significantly higher proportion of patients with moderate and severe basal ganglia EPVS, and significantly higher proportion of patients with white matter lesion (WML) grading 2 and 3 ( P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age, years of education, basal ganglia EPVS and WML grading were independent influencing factors for PSCI ( OR=1.049, 95%CI: 1.007-1.093, P=0.021; OR=0.910, 95%CI: 0.832-0.995, P=0.039; OR=0.760, 95%CI: 1.176-2.637, P=0.006; OR=2.270, 95%CI: 1.219-4.228, P=0.010). Correlation analysis showed that the severity degrees of basal ganglia EPVS were negatively correlated with MoCA scores, and scores of visual space and executive ability scale, attention scale, language scale and delayed recall scale ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Acute mild ischemic stroke patients with older age, less years of education, severer basal ganglia EPVS and higher WML grading trends to have cognitive impairment; basal ganglia EPVS mainly affects the cognitive domains of visual space and executive ability, attention, language, and delayed recall.

Correlation between basal ganglia-enlarged perivascular space and executive function in patients with recent small subcortical infarct / 中华神经医学杂志

Objective:To identify the influencing factors for cognitive impairment in patients with recent small subcortical infarct (RSSI), and explore the relationship between enlarged perivascular space (EPVS) and executive function in patients with RSSI.Methods:From February to December 2021, 115 patients with RSSI accepted treatment in Department of Neurology, Changzhou Second People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University were enrolled. According to Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) scores, these patients were divided into normal cognitive function group (MoCA scores≥26, n=45) and cognitive impairment group (MoCA scores<26, n=70); univariate analysis was used to analyze the differences of general clinical data and EPVS volume between the two groups; multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent influencing factors for RSSI combined with cognitive impairment. Patients were further divided into EPVS non-mild group and EPVS moderate-severe group according to EPVS visual assessment; the differences of scores of different executive function domains were compared between the two groups; Spearman correlation analysis was used to observe the relationships of EPVS grading and volume with executive function. Results:Patients in the cognitive impairment group had significantly older age, significantly higher serum creatinine level, proportion of patients with moderate-severe basal ganglia EPVS (BG-EPVS) and BG-EPVS volume, and significantly lower years of education as compared with those in the normal cognitive function group ( P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that BG-EPVS volume ( OR=1.421, 95%CI: 1.028-1.965, P=0.034) was an independent risk factor for RSSI combined with cognitive impairment. MoCA total scores, scores of visual space and executive function domains in patients of the BG-EPVS moderate-severe group were significantly lower than those in patients of the BG-EPVS non-mild group, while Z-scores of Stroop color word test (SCWT) and trail making test (TMT), and total Z-scores of executive function were significantly higher than those in patients of the BG-EPVS non-mild group ( P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that BG-EPVS grading and volume were positively correlated with total Z-scores of executive function in RSSI patients with cognitive impairment ( r=0.439, P=0.001; r=0.410, P=0.001). Conclusion:BG-EPVS volume is an independent risk factor for cognitive impairment, and both BG-EPVS grading and volume are correlated with impairment degrees of executive function in cognitive function in RSSI patients.

Atypical Virchow-Robin SpacesMimicking Cystic Primary Brain Tumor ­ Clinical Report and Literature Review

The Virchow-Robin spaces (VRSs), which are often incidentally observed in modern structural neuroimaging examinations, are small cystic cavities that usually surround the small arteries and arterioles at the level of basal ganglia, the anterior perforated substance and the thalamic-mesencephalic junction. Typically, they have similar physicochemical characteristics to cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and there is no contrast enhancement on brain CT andMRI images. Its real meaning is unknown, although some contemporary studies have suggested that it might be related to certain traumatic brain injury or several other central nervous system (CNS) disorders, as degenerative diseases. Occasionally, some wide and atypical VRS may be mistaken for primary cystic brain tumors, especially in the context of large and symptomatic lesions, multiple clustered cysts, cortical lesions and if there is adjacent reactive gliosis. The present paper reports four patients who were affected by atypical VRS mimicking brain tumors that required imaging follow-up or even a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis or to indicate the correct approach. Although it is not so unusual, one of them occurred concomitantly and adjacent to a diffuse glioma (co-deleted 1p19q, WHO-GII).

Influence of perivascular space enlargement on the prognosis of acute anterior circulation mild stroke / 医学研究生学报

Objective Few studies are reported on the influence of perivascular space enlargement (PVSE) on the prognosis of cerebral infarction. This study was to investigate the clinical correlation of EPVS in the basal ganglia and central semiovale with the prognosis of the first acute cerebral infarction (ACI) with anterior circulation mild small-artery occlusion (SAO).Methods We treated 137 cases of the first ACI with anterior circulation mild SAO in Tangshan Gongren Hospital from August 2015 to October 2016. According to the scores on PVSE in the basal ganglia and central semiovale, we divided the patients into a mild PVSE (score: 0-1) and a severe PVSE group (score: 2-4). Based on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NHISS) and the modified Rankin Scale (MRS) scores, we classified the outcome of neurological function recovery as good (MRS≥2) and poor (MRS<2) and analyzed the risk factors for the poor prognosis of ACI by logistic regression analysis.Results There were 60 cases of severe and 77 cases of mild PVSE in the in the basal ganglia as compared with 57 cases of severe and 80 cases of mild PVSE in the in the central semiovale. Good prognosis was achieved in 97 cases while poor prognosis observed in 40. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risk factors for the poor prognosis of ACI included NHISS at the onset (OR=5.393, 95% CI: 1.858-15.654), hypertension (OR=3.729, 95% CI: 1.310-10.610), and the severity of PVSE in the basal ganglia (OR=3.137, 95% CI: 1.343-7.325).Conclusion For the first acute cerebral infarction with anterior circulation mild small-artery occlusion, the severity of PVSE in the basal ganglia is an important factor affecting the recovery of neurological function.