Cognitive Performance after Lacunar Stroke Correlates with Leukoaraiosis Severity

This study investigates the effect of leukoaraiosis on patients presenting with cognitive impairment after lacunar stroke.Fourty-six patients with cognitive impairment and newly discovered lacunar stroke detected by brain magnetic resonance imaging underwent neuropsychological testing.Patients with both lacunar infarct and leukoaraiosis performed less well on cognitive measures, compared to those with lacunar infarcts alone. Additionally, leukoaraiosis severity inversely correlated with cognitive performance.In patients with lacunar stroke, presence of leukoaraiosis is associated with worse performance in multiple cognitive domains. These findings suggest lacunar infarcts plus leukoaraiosis is a common etiology for vascular dementia.