RESUMO
One hundred and eight patients have been investigated clinically, by computer tomography and by measuring the reaction time (RT). Thirty six controls without histories of brain disease, normal psychiatric findings and the same mean age as the other groups, were compared with 37 stroke patients without and 35 stroke patients with dementia. The dementia was defined clinically and by a psychological test (WAIS) and by applying a deterioration index (Baxa and Pakesch, 1972). The RT was measured by the Wiener Test system (Schuhfried) using eight optic, eight acoustic and eight choice signals at random for both hands, by adding the decision and motor response time to perform a task. The stroke patients as a whole (72) had significantly longer RT than the controls. When the stroke group was divided according to degree of dementia, in almost all the measurements the RT was significantly longer in the demented group. The localisation of the infarcts with RT with dominant or non-dominant hemisphere lesions showed no significant correlation, despite the fact that RT was longer in patients with infarcts in the dominant hemisphere or in those having bilateral lesions. When IQ was measured, only a few significant correlations were found between IQ and RT. In almost all the measurements a significant correlation between RT and OI was found. It was therefore concluded that RT is an easily applicable method for stroke patients in the differentiation between dementia and normal intellectual functioning, and a useful instrument for evaluating the long-term course of intellectual impairment in patients with stroke.
