title: Cerebral microbleeds and depression in lacunar stroke.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cerebral microbleeds (CMB) are common in stroke survivors and the community-dwelling elderly. The clinical significance of CMB in the development of depression after a stroke is unknown. This study examined the association between poststroke depression (PSD) and CMB.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of 235 patients with acute lacunar stroke admitted to the stroke unit of a university-affiliated regional hospital in Hong Kong was recruited. Three months after the onset of the index stroke, a research assistant administered the locally validated 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. PSD was defined as a Genetic Depression Scale score of ≥7. The presence and location of CMB were evaluated with MRI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In comparison with the non-PSD group, PSD patients were more likely to have lobar CMB (33.3% versus 19.9%; P=0.022). Lobar CMB remained an independent predictor of PSD in the multivariate analysis, with an odds ratio of 2.08 (P=0.032).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that lobar CMB may play a role in the development of PSD. The importance of CMB in the pathogenesis of depression in stroke survivors and the general elderly population warrants further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Shatin Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China. tangwk@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Y K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Winnie C W
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: V C T
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Mok
authors.forename: Gabor S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ungvari
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020520:Brain Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality