Hippocampal atrophy and cognitive function in transient ischemic attack and minor stroke patients over three years

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) and minor ischemic stroke (IS) is associated with a increased risk of late life dementia. In this study we aim to study the extent to which the rates of hippocampal atrophy in TIA/IS differ from healthy controls, and how they are correlated to neuropsychological measurements.

TIA or minor stroke patients were tested with a neuropsychological battery including tests of executive function, and verbal and non-verbal memory at three time points out to 3 years. Annualized rates of hippocampal atrophy in TIA/IS patients were compared to controls. A linear-mixed regression model was used to assess the difference in rates of hippocampal atrophy after adjusting for time and demographic characteristics.

TIA/IS patients demonstrated a higher hippocampal atrophy rate than healthy controls over a 3-year interval: the annual percentage change of the left hippocampal volume was 2.5% (78 mm³ per year (SD 60)) for TIA/IS patients compared to 0.9% (29 mm³ per year (SD 32)) for controls (p < 0.01); and the annual percentage change of the right hippocampal volume was 2.5% (80 mm³ per year (SD 46)) for TIA/IS patients compared to 0.5% (17 mm³ per year (SD 33)) for controls (P < 0.01). Patients with higher annual hippocampal atrophy were more likely to report higher TMT B times, but lower ROC total score, lower California Verbal Learning Test-II total recall, and lower ROC Figure recall scores longitudinally.

TIA/IS patients experience a higher rate of hippocampal atrophy independent of TIA/IS recurrence that are associated with changes in episodic memory and executive function over 3 years.