Fz. Yetkin et al., FOCAL HYPERINTENSITIES IN CEREBRAL WHITE-MATTER ON MR-IMAGES OF ASYMPTOMATIC VOLUNTEERS - CORRELATION WITH SOCIAL AND MEDICAL HISTORIES, American journal of roentgenology, 161(4), 1993, pp. 855-858
OBJECTIVE. Previous attempts to explain the presence of focal hyperint
ensities in the cerebral white matter on MR images have focused on the
patient's age and cardiovascular risk factors. The purpose of this st
udy was to survey many variables in subjects' social, medical, and sur
gical histories to identity those factors associated with focal hyperi
ntensities in asymptomatic persons. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Asymptomatic
volunteers were examined with MR imaging of the head and questioned c
oncerning smoking history; chemical dependence; alcohol consumption; m
edical history (e.g., high blood pressure, kidney disease); surgical h
istory (e.g., for appendix, gallbladder); medications (e.g., anti-hype
rtensives, analgesics); and other historical family and social variabl
es. Vital signs were recorded. Focal hyperintensities were counted by
observers who were not provided any information about the subjects oth
er than that they were either volunteers or patients. Each of the vari
ables in the history was tested for an association with the number of
focal hyperintensities seen on MR images. RESULTS. A statistically sig
nificant positive association was found between both age and the use o
f antihypertensive medications and the number of focal hyperintensitie
s. Associations were also found between the number of focal hyperinten
sities and diastolic and systolic blood pressures at the time of MR im
aging, but these associations did not reach statistical significance.
No other variables in the medical, surgical, or social histories were
found to be significantly related to the number of focal hyperintensit
ies. CONCLUSION. Age and the use of antihypertensive medications were
the only significant risk factors identified in respect to focal hyper
intensities of the cerebral white matter.