Association between cerebral microbleeds and cognition in a memory clinic population

The cognitive consequences of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in memory clinic population with a diverse cognitive spectrum remain unclear.

This study aimed to investigate how CMBs at different locations are associated with cognitive performance in a memory clinic population and whether these associations are independent of related small vessel disease (SVD) markers.

A cross-sectional study.

A university hospital memory clinic. Data were collected from December 2004 to September 2014 and analyzed in June 2024.

A total of 910 participants, composed of 64 individuals with subjective cognitive decline, 399 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 339 with Alzheimer disease dementia (AD), 58 with vascular dementia and mixed dementia, and 50 with other types of dementia, were included.

Summary scores for global cognition, memory, language, visuospatial function, and executive function measured by the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD) neuropsychological battery.

In the overall population, the presence of deep/infratentorial CMBs was significantly associated with executive dysfunction; however, this association was attenuated after adjusting for related SVD markers. When stratified by diagnostic subgroup, strictly lobar CMBs were significantly associated with impairments in global cognition and memory in the MCI group, independent of related SVD markers. In contrast, no significant associations between CMBs and cognitive domains were observed in the AD group.

These findings, based on memory clinic population with a broad cognitive spectrum, suggest that CMBs, depending on their location, may have different implications for cognitive function.