Prevalence and Topography of Small Hypointense Foci Suggesting Microbleeds on 3T Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging in Various Types of Dementia

Article Figures & Data

Download figure
Open in new tab
Download powerpoint
Fig 1.
A 78-year-old woman with AD without arterial hypertension. Her Mini-Mental State Examination score was 8. On a 2-mm SWI image, 2 small hypointense foci are seen in the right occipital lobe (arrows).
Download figure
Open in new tab
Download powerpoint
Fig 2.
Graph of the topography of small hypointense foci in the different dementia subgroups. Boxes illustrate the percentage of SHF in each region. In each group, the lobar region was the most frequent site of SHF. *In patients with DLB, AD, or FTLD, the prevalence of SHF in the 3 regions of the brain was significantly different (P < .05). BG/T indicates the basal ganglia/thalamus region; IT, infratentorial region; Lobar, lobar region.

Table 1:

Patient characteristics and SHF prevalence in each dementia subgroup

	SC (n = 32)	MCI (n = 51)	AD (n = 162)	DLB (n = 41)	FTLD (n = 33)	VaD (n = 28)
Age (mean) (yr)	71 ± 11	76 ± 8	75 ± 9	77 ± 6	68 ± 9	76 ± 8
Men (No.) (%)	6 (19)	22 (43)	54 (33)	20 (49)	14 (42)	14 (50)
MMSE (mean)	28 ± 2	25 ± 2	20 ± 4	19 ± 5	17 ± 7	19 ± 5
Hypertension, (No.) (%)	11 (35)	28 (55)	66 (41)	23 (56)	8 (24)	24 (86)
SHF (No.) (%)	7 (22)	21 (41)	77 (48)	22 (54)	9 (27)	24 (86)
Odds ratio (95% CI)	1 (ref.)	2.5 (0.9–6.8)	3.2 (1.3–7.9)	4.1 (1.5–11.7)	1.3 (0.4–4.2)	21.4 (5.6–82.7)
Adjusted odds ratio^{^a} (95% CI)	1 (ref.)	2.0 (0.5–8.1)	5.4 (1.2–24.3)^{^b}	3.1 (1.1–8.8)^{^b}	1.5 (0.4–5.4)	9.2 (2.0–43.6)^{^b}

Note:—ref. indicates reference; SC, subjective complaints; MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination.
↵a Logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, and arterial hypertension were performed in the SC group and each of the dementia groups.
↵b Statistically significant difference, P < .05.

Table 2:

Topography of SHF in each dementia subgroup^{^a}

	Total (n = 347)	SC (n = 32)	MCI (n = 51)	AD (n = 162)	DLB (n = 41)	FTLD (n = 33)	VaD (n = 28)
Whole brain	160 (46)	7 (22)	21 (41)	77 (48)	22 (54)	9 (27)	24 (86)
BG/T region	62 (48)	2 (6)	10 (20)	25 (15)	5 (12)	2 (6)	18 (64)
IT region	64 (18)	2 (6)	11 (22)	23 (14)	7 (17)	2 (6)	19 (68)
Brain stem	32 (9)	1 (3)	7 (14)	9 (6)	2 (5)	1 (3)	12 (43)
Cerebellum	48 (14)	1 (3)	7 (14)	18 (11)	6 (15)	1 (3)	15 (54)
Lobar region	136 (39)	5 (16)	16 (31)	66 (41)	18 (44)	9 (27)	22 (79)
Frontal	69 (20)	2 (6)	9 (18)	30 (19)	9 (22)	5 (15)	14 (50)
Temporal	65 (19)	3 (9)	8 (16)	27 (17)	7 (17)	3 (9)	17 (61)
Parietal	78 (22)	3 (9)	10 (20)	31 (19)	14 (34)	3 (9)	17 (61)
Occipital	63 (18)	1 (3)	8 (16)	32 (20)	5 (12)	4 (12)	13 (46)

Note:—SC indicates subjective complaints; BG/T, basal ganglia/thalamus; IT, infratentorial.
↵a Data are the number of small hypointense foci–positive areas, regions, or brain, with percentages in parentheses.

Table 3:

Prevalence of white matter hypertensities and lacunar infarcts in each dementia subgroup^{^a}

	Total (n = 347)	SC (n = 32)	MCI (n = 51)	AD (n = 162)	DLB (n = 41)	FTLD (n = 33)	VaD (n = 28)
White matter hypertensities
Absent	32 (9)	5 (16)	3 (6)	17 (10)	1 (2)	6 (18)	0 (0)
Punctate	166 (48)	17 (53)	28 (55)	81 (50)	19 (46)	17 (52)	4 (14)
Early confluent	107 (31)	9 (28)	12 (24)	49 (30)	19 (46)	9 (27)	9 (32)
Confluent	42 (12)	1 (3)	8 (16)	15 (9)	2 (5)	1 (3)	15 (54)
Lacunar infarcts	71 (20)	0 (0)	13 (26)	26 (16)	7 (17)	2 (6)	23 (82)

Note:—SC indicates subjective complaints; WMH, white matter hyperintensities.
↵a Data are the number or presence of MR imaging findings, with percentages in parentheses.