AUTHOR=Abdulsalam Mohammad Fathi , Shaheen Nour , Shaheen Ahmed , Alabdallat Yasmeen Jamal , Ramadan Abdelraouf , Meshref Mostafa , Mansour Fathy Mahmoud , Abed Elsayed , Fayed Abdel-Ghaffar I. , Zaki Mohamed Ahmed , El-Adawy Ahmad F. , Flouty Oliver , Hamed Mohamed 

TITLE=Correlation of silent brain infarcts and leukoaraiosis in middle-aged ischemic stroke patients: a retrospective study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2024.1430231

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2024.1430231

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=Background: Cerebrovascular diseases of the brain are usually defined by transient ‎ischemic attacks and strokes. However, they can also cause brain injuries without ‎neurological events. Silent brain infarcts (SBI) and leukoaraiosis are symptoms of both ‎vascular and neurological abnormalities. This study aims to investigate the association ‎between SBI, leukoaraiosis, and middle-aged patients with ischemic stroke. ‎
Methods: A single-centre retrospective study of 50 middle-aged, ischemic stroke ‎patients were studied from November 2022 and May 2023. The patients were divided ‎into two groups based on the presence or absence of leukoaraiosis. History taking, ‎physical examination, brain CT scan, and MRI were all part of the diagnostic process. ‎Metabolic syndrome (MetS ) was also assessed through various factors. The statistical ‎analysis included descriptive statistics, logistic regression analysis, and chi-square test. ‎
Results: Out of the cohort comprising 50 patients, characterized by a mean age of ‎‎52.26 years (SD 5.29), 32 were male, constituting 64% of the sample. Among these ‎patients, 26 individuals exhibited leukoaraiosis, with 17 of them (65.4%) also presenting ‎with SBI. Moreover, within this cohort, 22 patients were diagnosed with MetS, ‎representing 84.6% of those affected. The Multivariate logistic regression analysis ‎showed a strong and independent association between Leukoaraiosis and SBI. ‎Individuals with Leukoaraiosis were nearly five times more likely to have SBI compared ‎to those without Leukoaraiosis. ‎
Conclusions: The study highlights leukoaraiosis as a significant risk factor for SBI, ‎alongside MetS. Advanced imaging techniques have facilitated their detection, revealing ‎a higher prevalence among stroke patients, particularly associated with age and ‎hypertension. Further research is needed to fully understand their complex relationship ‎and develop better management strategies for cerebrovascular diseases, ultimately ‎improving patient outcomes.‎