TUESDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News) -- White matter hyperintensity is strongly associated with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), while brain infarcts are more strongly associated with nonamnestic MCI in elderly individuals without dementia, according to a study in the Aug. 11 issue of Neurology.
Jose A. Luchsinger, M.D., from Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues examined the association between white matter hyperintensity volume and infarcts to MCI (amnestic and nonamnestic) in 679 elderly persons without dementia undergoing brain magnetic resonance imaging.
After adjusting for possible variables, the researchers found that white matter hyperintensity was more strongly associated with amnestic MCI (odds ratio, 1.9), while infarcts were more strongly associated with nonamnestic MCI (odds ratio, 2.7). Using continuous cognitive scores, white matter hyperintensity was most associated with memory scores while infarcts were most associated with nonamnestic domains.
"Our findings suggest that higher white matter hyperintensity is more specific to amnestic than nonamnestic MCI, while infarcts are more specific to nonamnestic MCI," Luchsinger and colleagues conclude.
Authors of the study reported financial relationships with the pharmaceutical industry.
Abstract
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