[A study on the relation between cerebral lesion and cognitive defect in multi-infarct patients]

240 cases of multi-infarct patients with more than two cerebral infarct lesions in CT findings were collected successively from 1991 to 1992. 42.92% of them were shown to have cognitive defect with a series of neuropsychological tests. Correlation of the occurrence of cognitive defect with the CT findings such as the location and extent of focal lesions as well as the presence of cerebral atrophy or subcortical degeneration were carried out. According to the results by multiple regression and factor analysis, the location and extent of the focal infarct lesions were not the primary determining factor for the occurrence of cognitive defect. It is, therefore, suggested that the term of ischemic or vascular dementia be used clinically instead of the so-called multi-infarct dementia.