title: Frontal Cortical Atrophy as a Predictor of Poststroke Apathy.
abstract: The aim of the study was to identify associations between the symptoms of poststroke apathy and sociodemographic, stroke-related (severity of stroke, degree of disability, and performance in activities of daily living), and radiological correlates. We determined the degree of cortical and subcortical brain atrophy, the severity of white matter and basal ganglia lesions on baseline computed tomography (CT) scans, and the localization of acute ischemia on control CT or magnetic resonance imaging scans in subacute stages of stroke. During follow-up examinations, in addition to the assessment of apathy symptoms using the Apathy Scale, we also evaluated symptoms of depression and anxiety using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The study included 47 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke. Correlates significantly associated with apathy, determined at baseline and during follow-up, were entered into the "predictive" and "associative" multiple regression models, respectively. Frontal cortical atrophy and symptoms of depression were most strongly associated with poststroke apathy symptoms. In order to model an interrelation between both cortical atrophy and white matter lesions and aging, we supplemented 2 additional "predictive" models using interaction variables, whereby we confirmed the role of frontal cortical atrophy as a predictor of poststroke apathy also as a function of the increasing age of patients.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Neurology, Comenius University Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia jan.mihalov@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ján
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mihalov
authors.affiliation: First Department of Radiology, University Hospital Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mikula
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, Comenius University Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Jaroslav
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Budiš
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Neurology, Comenius University Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valkovič
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D057565:Apathy; D001284:Atrophy / Q000150:complications; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: apathy; cortical atrophy; geriatric neuropsychiatry; stroke