Distribution and frequency of cerebral microhemorrhages in cerebral small vessel disease

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the distribution and frequency of microhemorrhages (MHs) in cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), multiple lacunar stroke and control groups and their association with factors implicated in etiology such as hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (DM) and antiplatelet drug use.

Methods: Patients were divided into CSVD, multiple lacunar infarction (MLI) and control groups based on white matter hyperintensity (WMH), presence of lacunes, and patient clinical information. The presence and frequency of MHs were compared in terms of comorbidities such as accompanying HT, DM and antiplatelet use.

Results: The presence of MHs in the CSVD group was significantly higher than in the other groups (p<0.001). The number of MHs in the thalamus, basal ganglia and cortical-subcortical areas were significantly higher in the CSVD group than in the other groups.

Conclusions: One of the most important points that stands out in this study is that microhemorrhage was seen in 78% in the CSVD group, 38% in the MLI group and 20% in the control group, although the total number did not exceed three. The results of our study suggest that T2* gradient echo (GE) and susceptibility weighted (SW) imaging should be performed before thrombolytic therapy in stroke patients with or without CSVD.