title: Cerebral microbleeds predict first-ever symptomatic cerebrovascular events.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cerebral microbleeds (CMB) on gradient-echo T2*-weighted magnetic resonance image (MRI) are frequently seen in patients with cerebral diseases. In this observational study we assessed whether CMB are a predictive factor for first-ever cerebrovascular events.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study consisted of 698 subjects without a history of symptomatic cerebrovascular events, who received gradient-echo T2*-weighted MRI for 3 months between November 2003 and January 2004 in Kishiwada City Hospital, Osaka, Japan. These subjects were then observed as outpatients for over 3.5 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of CMB at baseline was 17.0% (119/698) in this population, and the follow-up rate was 51%. A total of 36 first-ever symptomatic cerebrovascular events were observed during the 3 and a half-year follow-up period. First-ever symptomatic cerebrovascular events occurred significantly more frequently in subjects with CMB (15 cases) than those without CMB (21 cases) (p=0.001). Even after adjusting for age, sex and hypertension, it was revealed that the presence of CMB was an independent predictor for the first-ever symptomatic cerebrovascular event by using the Cox proportional hazards model (hazard ratio, 2.87; 95% CI, 1.27-6.48; p=0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of CMB is an independent predictor of first-ever symptomatic cerebrovascular diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Kishiwada City Hospital, 1001 Gakuhara-cho, Kishiwada, Osaka 596-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomofumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueba
authors.forename: Motohiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kajiwara
authors.forename: Ichro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Miyamatsu
authors.forename: Kohsuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamashita
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012984:Software; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology