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The Event‐Related P300 Potential Approach to Cognitive Functions of Nondemented Patients with Cerebral and Peripheral Arteriosclerosis
Author(s) -
Kiigler Christian F.A.,
Vlajic Predrag,
Funk Harald,
Raithel Dieter,
Platt Dieter
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1995.tb07398.x
Subject(s) - medicine , peripheral , cardiology , concomitant , stenosis , montreal cognitive assessment , cognition , dementia , disease , psychiatry
OBJECTIVES: To detect subtle cognitive dysfunction in non‐demented patients with either cerebral ( c AD) or peripheral ( p AD) arteriosclerotic disease, and to evaluate in these patients the effects on cognitive functions of carotid endarterec to my and bypass surgery, respectively. DESIGN: Case‐control study. SETTING: Tertiary care referral center. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty consecutive patients with moderate to high‐grade stenosis of the internal carotid artery (ICA) (mean age plusmn SD, 62 plusmn 8 years), 53 patients with stenoses of the peripheral arteries (60 plusmn 10 years), and 80 healthy volunteers (58 plusmn 15 years) enrolled in a study on healthy aging. Cerebral and peripheral arteriosclerotic disease was verified by digital subtraction angiography, and all patients were screened for confounding effects of concomitant diseases. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cognitive functions by event‐related visual P300 potentials. RESULTS: Patients with c AD showed prolonged P300 latencies and reduced P300 amplitudes, whereas p AD patients had reduced P300 amplitudes only. On an individual scale, 25% of c AD patients, but only 6% of p AD patients, revealed P300 abnormalities. In the c AD, but not in the p AD patients, the P300 latencies were especially prolonged in the older patients, but other factors such as sex, cerebral symptoms, degree of ICA stenosis, and premorbid intelligence did not play any role in either group. Within 1 to 2 weeks of surgery, the P300 latencies shortened in both c AD and p AD patients with high initial values. CONCLUSIONS: As demonstrated by P300 potentials, even nondemented arteriosclerotic patients reveal signs of subtle cognitive dysfunction affecting especially the older c AD patient. In the short‐term, carotid endarterectomy presumably improves cognitive functions unspecifically in nondemented patients with a higher initial degree of P300 abnormality.