Poststroke Dementia

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Abstract
THE RISK of dementia is increased in patients who had a stroke, with prevalence rates of poststroke dementia (PSD) ranging from 13.6% to 32%1-4 and incidence reaching 33.3% within 4 years after stroke.5 The pathophysiology of PSD includes direct consequences of the vascular lesions of the brain6 and possible Alzheimer disease (AD)–associated changes7: among stroke patients with PSD about one third are considered to have AD and stroke because cognitive decline was present before the index stroke, as well as having a progressive time course without any evidence of a new stroke.8 Medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTLA) is strongly associated with AD9-11 and PSD12; however, the influence of MTLA on the risk of new-onset dementia after stroke remains unknown. The aim of our study was to determine the influence of MTLA on the risk of new-onset dementia in stroke patients.