Abstract
Middle East Current Psychiatry 2011, 18:203–210 Objectives There are scarce data on long-term cognitive outcomes after first-ever hemorrhagic stroke. Aim This study was carried out to determine the frequency of cognitive impairment, no dementia after an intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke and to study their evolution toward dementia (transitions in cognitive state) during a 2-year follow-up. Methods Thirty-five patients with first-ever hemorrhagic strokes and in an age-matched and sexmatched comparison group (nonstroke, n=20) were followed up for 2 years by three serial assessments. Stroke patients at 3, 12, 24 months after discharge were evaluated together with nonstrokes, by an extensive neuropsychological battery and clinical psychiatric interview based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disease, 4th edition TR criteria. Rates of cognitive change were compared using repeated-measures analyses. Factors associated with incident dementia and cognitive impairment, no dementia at 2 years were determined by multinomial logistic regression. Results The majority of patients (71.4%) were cognitively stable. Fewer cases improved (11.5%) and 71.1% of the stroke cases worsened at the end of the 24-month follow-up. There was impaired cognitive function in nearly all cognitive domains of stroke cases compared with nonstroke cases. Overall, stroke cases showed a statistically significant decline in mini-mental state examination (MMSE), spatial ability, and in the executive function domain; however, there was no improvement in attention nonverbal memory domains. Age at stroke onset was independently associated with cognitive impairment at the 2-year follow-up P=0.03. Conclusion Cognitive evolution 2 years after hemorrhagic stroke is different among patients, but a substantial number of patients remain stable. Additional studies are required to reliably identify individuals at risk for cognitive decline for whom pharmacologic or other therapeutic interventions would be more suitable and who will probably spontaneously improve. Classification of stroke by etiology may be more useful to determine patients at a higher risk of stroke and for its prevention.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
