Quantification of medial temporal lobe atrophy score in patients with vascular dementia

Abstract

Vascular dementia (VD) is the second most common cause of dementia in older people. It is a chronic progressive disease of the brain bringing about cognitive impairment. The loss of brain parenchyma is caused by cerebrovascular diseases. Dementia rates are growing at alarming proportion in several regions of the world and is related to population aging. This study aimed to determine the influence of medial temporal lobe atrophy on the Mini-Mental State Examination-Philippines (MMSE-P) and Clock Drawing Test (CDT) scores in patients diagnosed with VD. This study utilized a cross-sectional design. We included elderly Filipinos > 60 years old diagnosed with VD from 2013 – 2018. Subjects were derived from in- and out-patient referrals in a tertiary hospital in Metro Manila. Schelten’s visual scale was utilized to evaluate medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA). The mean age of subjects in the study was 73.54 years old (mean SD + 8.63), mostly females and completed tertiary education. Linear regression analysis was used to measure the influence of medial temporal lobe atrophy in MMSE-P and CDT scores. Results showed inverse relation for MTA on both MMSE-P and CDT scores. Hence, for every 1-unit increase in MTA, there is a 0.58-unit decrease in CDT and 0.66-unit decrease in MMSE-P scores. MTA significantly decreased MMSE-P and CDT scores in patients with VD. So, as the medial temporal lobe atrophy score is higher, a corresponding decrease in both the MMSE-P and CDT scores.