Long-Term Post-Stroke Cognition in Patients With Minor Ischemic Stroke is Related to Tract-Based Disconnection Induced by White Matter Hyperintensities.

ABSTRACT: Over a third of minor stroke patients experience post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI), but no validated tools exist to identify at-risk patients early. This study investigated whether disconnection features derived from infarcts and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) could serve as markers for short- and long-term cognitive decline in first-ever minor ischemic stroke patients. First-ever minor ischemic stroke patients (NIHSS ≤ 7) were prospectively followed at 72-h, 6 months, and 36 months post-stroke with cognitive tests and brain MRI. Infarct and WMH volumes were semi-automatically assessed on DWI and FLAIR sequences. Bayesian tract-based disconnection models estimated remote pathological effects of infarcts and WMH. Associations between disconnection features and cognitive outcomes

SUBMITTER: Lopes R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11770330 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature