title: Anticardiolipin antibodies are associated with cognitive dysfunction in stroke-free individuals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The presence of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCLs) has been associated with vascular occlusive events. The role of aCLs as a risk factor for stroke has been a matter of debate, and scarce information exists on the relationship between aCLs and other cerebral disorders. Reports exist for seizures, chorea and subtle cognitive dysfunction. The association between aCLs and cognition was further explored and the relationship between aCL titres and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings was evaluated in a large cohort of community-dwelling individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study cohort was drawn from the Austrian Stroke Prevention Study. A total of 1895 subjects had a complete risk factor assessment and measurement of aCL titres in serum. Participants were classified as aCL positive if either the immunoglobulin G (IgG) or IgM aCL titres were elevated (IgG > 21 U/ml, IgM > 12 U/ml). All subjects were also categorized based on the quartile distribution of IgG and IgM isotype titres. All underwent cognitive testing by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a random sample of 947 participants also underwent brain MRI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  aCL positive participants performed worse on the MMSE. IgG but not IgM isotype titres related to worse performance on the MMSE. No significant association existed with vascular brain abnormalities including lacunes, cortical infarcts and white matter lesions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data support the view that in normal elderly persons increasing IgG aCL titres relate to global cognitive dysfunction. It is unlikely that structural brain lesions are responsible for this finding.
authors: Division of Neurogeriatrics, Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Homayoon
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Schwingenschuh
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Hofer
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Katschnig-Winter
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001317:Austria; D002308:Cardiolipins / Q000276:immunology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000097:blood*; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D002308:Cardiolipins; D007136:Immunoglobulins
keywords: anticardiolipin antibodies; brain magnetic resonance imaging; cognition; vascular brain lesions