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Natural History of the Vascular Dementias: A Prospective Study of Seven Cases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Linda A. Hershey*
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology and Radiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ohio
Michael T. Modic
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology and Radiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ohio
David F. Jaffe
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology and Radiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ohio
P. Gregg Greenough
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology and Radiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ohio
*
Department of Neurology # 127, Veterans Administration Medical Center, 3495 Bailey Avenue, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A.
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Abstract:

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The clinical course of vascular dementia has been described as a stepwise deterioration over time. We studied the chronologic course of cognitive performance over 1-4 years in seven patients with known ischemic cerebrovascular disease whose dementia subtype was assigned according to the clinical history and the pattern of white matter lesions seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). One patient had the lacunar state, three had subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy and three had multiple cortical and subcortical strokes. All were being treated with an antiplatelet agent and six received antihypertensive therapy. Four of the seven vascular dementia patients improved cognitively over the first year. A fluctuating course was eventually seen in all patients. None showed stepwise deterioration of cognitive function over time. The MRI was useful in subclassifying vascular dementia patients, but the clinical course did not appear to vary as a function of the dementia subtype.

Type
Imaging of Demented Subjects
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1986

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