Cerebral microbleeds and functional outcomes after ischemic stroke.
BACKGROUND
Whether an association exists between cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) and functional recovery after ischemic stroke is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the association between CMBs and functional outcome after acute ischemic stroke.


METHODS
Consecutive patients with acute stroke were enrolled, and all patients were stratified into good and poor functional outcome groups at discharge and 6 months after ischemic stroke by using a modified Rankin Scale score. Cardiovascular risk factors, CMBs, and white matter hyperintensities were compared between these two outcome groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the risk of poor functional outcomes.


RESULTS
A total of 225 patients were enrolled, 121 of whom were classified as having a good functional outcome at discharge and 142 as having a good 6-month functional outcome. The presence of CMBs was associated with a poor functional outcome at discharge [CMBs (+) patients in poor vs. good functional group; 48.1% vs. 30.6%; p=0.007] and 6 months [53.0% vs. 30.3%; p=0.001]. After adjustment for confounding factors, only the presence of infratentorial CMBs was associated with a poor functional outcome at discharge and 6 months. The poor functional outcome group had more CMBs than the good outcome group at 6 months.


CONCLUSIONS
Infratentorial cerebral microbleeds were significantly associated with worse functional outcomes not only in the early phase of ischemic stroke but also in the chronic phase. These findings suggest that the presence of infratentorial CMBs can predict poor functional outcome after acute ischemic stroke.
1Department of Neurology,College of Medicine,Catholic University of Korea,Seoul,Korea.
Tae-Won
TW
Kim
2Department of Neurology,Sejong General Hospital,Bucheon,Korea.
Seung-Jae
SJ
Lee
1Department of Neurology,College of Medicine,Catholic University of Korea,Seoul,Korea.
Jaseong
J
Koo
3Department of Radiology,College of Medicine,Catholic University of Korea,Seoul,Korea.
Hyun-Seok
HS
Choi
1Department of Neurology,College of Medicine,Catholic University of Korea,Seoul,Korea.
Jeong-Wook
JW
Park
1Department of Neurology,College of Medicine,Catholic University of Korea,Seoul,Korea.
Kwang-Soo
KS
Lee
1Department of Neurology,College of Medicine,Catholic University of Korea,Seoul,Korea.
Joong-Seok
JS
Kim
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055806:Microvessels / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome