Vascular risk factors and hyperintense white matter lesions in Alzheimer's disease

INTRODUCTION: Cerebrovascular injury and amyloid. deposition are associated with cognitive impairment. The relationship of these factors in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been studied in other populations. OBJECTIVE: To describe the frequency of white matter hyperintensities using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with AD. METHODS: In this retrospective, observational study we reviewed records of patients with diagnosis of dementia. We included in the analysis 35 patients with clinical classification criteria for probable AD, having examination by means of MRI. RESULTS: Mean age was 79.3 +/- 6.5 years; 63% (n = 22) were female, the average years of schooling was 9.9 +/- 6.4. The mean MMSE score was 20.4 +/- 6.9. The prevalence of vascular risk factors at diagnosis of dementia was as follows: dyslipidemia 43%, smoking 43%, hypertension 34%, coronary artery disease 14% and cerebrovascular disease 2.8%. A 88.5% had white matter hyperintense lesions, almost a half with Fazekas 1 (48.6%). CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the theory of a vascular mechanism in EA or the existence of a single heterogeneous entity: mixed dementia.