Pneumoencephalographic and clinical characteristics of diffuse cerebral atrophy

The clinical features in 268 patients with diffuse cerebral atrophy of initially unknown origin have been analysed. Pneumoencephalography showed supratentorial ventricular atrophy in 87 per cent (cortical in 71 per cent), and brain stem and/or cerebellar atrophy in 17 per cent of the patients. Epileptic seizures, dizziness and clumsiness were the most frequent initial symptoms. Vibration in work, psychic impairment, gait difficulties, co-ordinative dysfunction, excessive use of alcohol, and arterial hypertension dominated the clinical picture. Serum cholesterol and triglycerides, and beta-globulins in the cerebrospinal fluid protein electrophoresis were normal. Diffuse cerebral atrophy without defined cause appears to affect all parts of the brain, with particular predilection for the frontotemporal area and the left side, and to have diffuse and unspecific clinical characteristics.