Effects of leukoaraiosis on cognitive function in elderly patients after acute cerebral infarction / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the effects of leukoaraiosis on cognitive function in elderly patients after acute cerebral infarction.Methods From May 2010 to August 2011,a total of 147 elderly patients with acute cerebral infarction were enrolled,including 96 patients with leukoaraiosis and 51 patients without leukoaraiosis.The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) and the correlative factors of cognitive function were assessed in all patients.Results There was no statistical difference in general information between patients with and without leukoaraiosis.There were significant differences in the MoCA scores between patients with and without leukoaraiosis (x2 =19.15,P＜0.01),as well as between the vital and non-vital positions of cerebral infarction (x2=21.41,P＜0.01).The Logistic regression analysis showed that the vital position of infarction and leukoaraiosis were related to the cognitive impairment (OR=12.27,6.60,both P＜0.01),while the area of infarction and the type of cerebral infarction in Oxford County Community Stroke Project (OCSP) had no effects on cognitive impairment.Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a positive relationship between the degree of white matter lesions and the decline in cognitive function (r=-0.87,P＜0.01).Conclusions The position of acute cerebral infarction and leukoaraiosis are independent risk factors for cognitive function after acute cerebral infarction,and the former plays a more important role than does the latter.