Greater frequency of subcortical lesions in severely demented patients with early onset Alzheimer's disease.
BACKGROUND
Recent data have shown that in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular brain lesions might promote the progression of cognitive decline or might even precede neuronal damage.


METHODS
Ischemic brain lesions, recognized on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, were analyzed retrospectively in 72 patients with early and late onset sporadic AD.


RESULTS
All types of ischemic lesions occurred more frequently in the AD patients than in the controls. Analysis of subgroups of early and late onset AD patients diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging showed a more frequent occurrence of subcortical lesions in severely demented patients with early onset AD.


CONCLUSIONS
The non-stroke subcortical ischemic lesions occurring more frequently in our AD patients might be recognized as the concomitant vascular pathology that characterizes severely demented patients with early onset sporadic AD.
Geppert
Anita Malgorzata
AM
Department of Neurology, University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland. Anita_Geppert@poczta.onet.pl
Wroblewska
Katarzyna Anna
KA
Przedpelska-Ober
Elzbieta Maria
EM