Objective:To explore intellectual impairment and related factors in patients with asymptomatic cerebral infarction (ACI). Methods: Neuropsychological tests were administered to (a) 56 ACI patients identified by CT or MRI, (b) 50 patients with symptomatic cerebral infarction (SCI), and (c) 40 healthy control subjects. Correlation between intellectual impairment and sites of infarction, number of infarction, past history and educational levels was analyzed. Results: Levels of intelligence in 36 ACI cases were lower than normal, and among them 13 ACI cases had significant intellectual impairments. Test scores were found to be lower in the ACI patient group than in the healthy control group, which however did not differ significantly from the SCI control group. PIQ was found to be reduced significantly in patients with right cerebral infarction. Cases of low education level, diabetes, multiple cerebral infarction, bilateral cerebral infarction, temporal lobe infarction, thalamus infarction, and infarction adjacent to the lateral ventricle were more frequently identified in the intellectual impairment group as compared to the no impairment group (P<0.05~0.01). Intellectual impairment was negatively related to education, but positively related to history of hypertension. Conclusion: Multiple cerebral infarction, bilateral cerebral infarction, cortex infarction and thalamus infarction were commonly associated with intellectual impairment. Low education background, history of hypertension or diabetes might also constitute significant risk factors for intellectual impairment in patients of ACI.
|