%0 Journal Article
%T Clinical and neuroimaging correlates of abnormal short-latency Somatosensory Evoked Potentials in elderly vascular dementia patients: A psychophysiological exploratory study
%A Iacovos Tsiptsios
%A Konstantinos N Fountoulakis
%A Konstantinos Sitzoglou
%A Anastasia Papanicolaou
%A Konstantinos Phokas
%A Fotis Fotiou
%A George St Kaprinis
%J Annals of General Psychiatry
%D 2003
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1475-2832-2-8
%X The study included 14 VD patients, aged 72.93 ¡À 4.73 years, and 10 controls aged 71.20 ¡À 4.44 years. All subjects underwent a detailed clinical examination, blood and biochemical testing, brain MRI and were assessed with the MMSE. SEPs were recorded after stimulation from upper and lower limbs. The statistical Analysis included 1 and 2-way MANCOVAs and Factor analysisThe N13 latency was significantly prolonged, the N19 amplitude was lower, the P27 amplitude was lower and the N11-P27 conduction time was prolonged in severely demented patients in comparison to controls. The N19 latency was prolonged in severely demented patients in comparison to both mildly demented and controls. The same was true for the N13-N19 conduction time, and for the P27 latency. Patients with subcortical lesions had all their latencies prolonged and lower P27 amplitude.The results of the current study suggest that there are significant differences between patients suffering from VD and healthy controls in SEPs, but these are detectable only when dementia is severe or there are lesions located in the subcortical regions. The results of the current study locate the abnormal SEPs in the white matter, and are in accord with the literature.Vascular dementia (VD) is the second most frequent type of dementia in the elderly. It may be the result of multiple embolic or thrombotic ishaemic infarcts in the cortex or in subcortical structures. However, it has been well documented that dementia may be caused by hypertension, diffuse cerebral ischaemia or any other cause that may have an adverse effect on cerebral blood flow [1]. Lacunar encephalopathy, due to chronic hypertension or atherosclerosis, may lead to dementia also known as 'subcortical atherosclerotic encephalopathy' (Binswanger's disease) [2].Although Computerized Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) may provide a detailed image of brain lesions, in many instances their findings are in contrast to the clinical picture [3]. Shor
%K vascular dementia
%K SEPs
%K MRI
%K subcortical
%U http://www.annals-general-psychiatry.com/content/2/1/8