Effects of butylphthalide injection on cerebral blood flow perfusion and cognitive function in patients with acute cerebral infarction accompanied by cognitive disorder

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of butylphthalide injection on cerebral blood flow (CBF) perfusion and cognitive function in patients with acute cerebral infarction accompanied by cognitive disorder. Methods From September 2016 to September 2017, 80 patients with acute cerebral infarction and cognitive impairment were admitted to the Department of Neurology, Yan’an Hospital of Kunming Medical University. They were assigned to an observation group (n=40) and a control group (n=40). The control group received conventional treatment while the observation group received butylphthalide injection in addition to conventional treatment. The treatment lasted for 14 days for both groups. Before and after treatment, dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced perfusion-weighted imaging (DSC-PWI) was used to measure the CBF parameters in the cerebral ischemic region, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was used to evaluate the changes in cognitive function. Results After treatment, rCBF and rCBV increased significantly and rMTT and rTTP decreased significantly in the observation group (P<0.05). After treatment, there were significant improvements in MoCA subscores and total score in the observation group (P<0.05). In the observation group, the post-treatment increases in rCBV and rCBF were positively correlated with increased MoCA total score (r=0.474, P=0.013; r=0.282, P=0.027), and the post-treatment decreases in rMTT and rTTP were negatively correlated with increased MoCA total score (r=-0.294, P=0.021; r=-0.382, P=0.019). Conclusion Butylphthalide injection can safely improve CBF perfusion in the focal region and cognitive function in patients with acute cerebral infarction, with no obvious adverse reactions. Key words: Butylphthalide; Cerebral infarction; Acute stage; Cognitive dysfunction; Cerebral blood flow perfusion