Fax +41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail karger@karger.ch www.karger.com Original Paper Cerebrovasc Dis 2009;27:336–344 DOI: 10.1159/000202010 MRI-Defined Subcortical Ischemic Vascular Disease: Baseline Clinical and Neuropsychological Findings The LADIS Study Hanna Jokinen a, b Hely Kalska a Raija Ylikoski b Sofia Madureira c Ana Verdelho c Alida Gouw d Philip Scheltens d Frederik Barkhof d Marieke C. Visser d Franz Fazekas e Reinhold Schmidt e John O’Brien f Michael Hennerici g Hansjorg Baezner g Gunhild Waldemar h Anders Wallin i Hugues Chabriat j Leonardo Pantoni k Domenico Inzitari k Timo Erkinjuntti b on behalf of the LADIS group a Department of Psychology and b Memory Research Unit, Department of Neurology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; c Serviço de Neurologia, Centro de Estudos Egas Moniz, Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisbon, Portugal; d Department of Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; e Department of Neurology and MRI Institute, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria; f Institute for Ageing and Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK; g Department of Neurology, University of Heidelberg, Klinikum Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany; h Memory Disorders Research Group, Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; i Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Goteborg University, Gothenburg, Sweden; j Department of Neurology, Hôpital Lariboisière, Paris, France; k Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy and Disability (LADIS) study, aged 65–84 years, underwent comprehensive clinical and neuropsychological examina- tions, and brain MRI at the baseline assessment. The subjects meeting the SIVD imaging criteria (n = 89) were compared to the other subjects of the sample (n = 524). Results: SIVD was associated with lower education, hypertension and, in- dependently, with obesity. The subjects with SIVD had more often motor impairment, a history of falls, and subtle impair- ment in activities of daily living, but they did not differ for depressive symptoms. SIVD subjects performed significant- ly inferiorly in tests of global cognitive function, psychomo- tor speed, attention and executive functions, verbal fluency, and working memory. Conclusion: In this population of nondisabled older adults with WML, SIVD was related to spe- cific clinical and functional characteristics. Neuropsycholog- ical features included psychomotor slowing as well as defi- cits in attention and executive functions. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel Key Words Subcortical ischemic vascular disease  Small vessel disease  White matter changes  Vascular cognitive impairment Abstract Background: Subcortical ischemic vascular disease (SIVD) is a common, but often overlooked cause of vascular cognitive impairment. Diagnostic research criteria for SIVD are based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings including substantial white matter lesions (WML) and multiple lacunar infarcts. Empirical studies validating these imaging criteria are still few. The purpose of the study was to describe the clinical and cognitive characteristics of the MRI-defined SIVD in a mixed sample of functionally independent elderly sub- jects with WML. Methods: The subjects of the Leukoaraiosis Received: June 4, 2008 Accepted: November 3, 2008 Published online: February 14, 2009 Hanna Jokinen, PhD Department of Neurology Helsinki University Central Hospital, PO Box 302 FI–00029 HUS, Helsinki (Finland) Tel. +358 40 594 2286, Fax +358 9 4717 4088, E-Mail hanna.jokinen@helsinki.fi © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel 1015–9770/09/0274–0336$26.00/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/ced