Analysis of related risk factors in patients of cerebral infarction with leukoaraiosis

Objective To analyze the related risk factors in patients of cerebral infarction with leukoaraiosis and to investigate their pathogenesis.Methods The clinical data of 216 patients with acute cerebral infarction were analyzed retrospectively.The patients were divided into a cerebral infarction with leukoaraiosis group(n=43) and a cerebral infarction without leukoaraiosis group(n=173) according to brain CT or magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) findings.The risk factors for cerebrovascular diseases,the location and size of cerebral infarction,and the diseased vessels and collateral circulation were compared between the two groups.Results ①Logistic regression analysis showed that anterior circulation lesion(OR 7.165;95% CI 3.072 to 16.714),hypertension(OR 3.135;95% CI 1.090 to 9.013) and advanced age(OR 1.119;95% CI 1.067 to 1.174) were the independent risk factors for patients of cerebral infarction with leukoaraiosis.②Among the 43 patients in the cerebral infarction with leukoaraiosis group,the infarctions of 27 patients(62.8%) were in the basal ganglia or subcortical white matter,and 18 patients(41.9%) had lacunar infarction;173 patients in the cerebral infarction without leukoaraiosis group were 46 (26.6%) and 18(10.4%),respectively,and there were significant differences between the 2 groups(P=0.000).③Twenty-seven and 41 patients had anterior circulation lesions in both groups(χ2=7.890,P0.05).Six patients(22.2%) developed anterior circulation lesions and 12(44.4%) had vascular occlusion in the cerebral infarction with leukoaraiosis group;there was no anterior circulation lesion(P=0.003),and 37 patients had vascular occlusion(90.2%) in the cerebral infarction without leukoaraiosis group,there were significant differences between the 2 groups(P0.01).The patency rate of collateral circulation had no significant difference between the 2 groups.Conclusion Small cerebral-vessel and anterior circulation lesions are the pathophysiological basis of the patients of cerebral infarction with leukoaraiosis.