Cerebral microbleeds are associated with cognitive decline early after ischemic stroke

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Neuroimaging
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Cerebral microbleeds (CMB) are small, punctate hemorrhages in the brain's white matter.
• Their association with early cognitive decline after ischemic stroke is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between cerebral microbleeds (CMB) and vascular cognitive decline (VCD) in the early stages after ischemic stroke.
• To determine if specific cognitive domains are preferentially affected by CMB.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study compared 33 stroke patients with ≥1 CMB to 33 matched stroke survivors without CMB.
• Cognitive performance was assessed six months post-stroke using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD)-plus test battery.

Main Results:

• CMB-positive patients exhibited more severe global cognitive decline (MMSE) and poorer episodic memory (Word-List-Learning, Word-List-Recognition).
• Impaired phonemic fluency was observed in CMB-positive patients, while semantic fluency remained unaffected.
• Visuospatial recall was also restricted in stroke patients with CMB, with minimal differences in executive functions.

Conclusions:

• Stroke patients with CMB show more significant cognitive impairment compared to CMB-free controls, with memory functions being most affected.
• CMB may be a contributing factor to post-stroke cognitive decline, particularly impacting memory and phonemic fluency.