An extended follow-up of stroke patients for cognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric disorders: Sydney Stroke Study [ 2003 - 2004 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof Perminder Sachdev (Principal investigator) ,  A/Pr Alessandro Zagami ,  Prof Henry Brodaty

Brief description Vascular Dementia (VaD) is the second most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease. In fact, it may be a preventable cause of dementia. Yet it has been relatively neglected by researchers until the last decade, which has seen an upsurge of interest in this disorder. There is no consensus on the criteria for dementia. The profile of early cognitive impairment due to vascular factors is still poorly understood, and the longitudinal course of VaD as defined by modern criteria has not been studied. There have been few studies of the progressive changes in MRI in patients with cerebrovascular disease. The overlap of VaD and Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains a problem for taxonomists and clinicians. One approach to the study of VaD is to examine a high risk group of subjects longitudinally to determine the early features, the risk factors and progressive changes. With this in mind, we began studying a cohort of stroke patients who are at high risk of VaD, in 1997-1999, and are following them longitudinally. The follow-up is now in its third year, and three neuropsychological assessments and two MRI-MRS scans have been performed. We propose to extend the follow-up to 5 years, with repeat neuropsychiatric, neuropsychological and MRI-MRS investigations, and wherever possible to necropsy, to determine the nature of vascular pathology that underlies cognitive impairment. Our cohort of stroke patients is arguably the most comprehensively assessed such cohorts internationally, and presents an excellent opportunity for a long-term follow-up study.

Funding Amount $AUD 321,800.00

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes Standard Project Grant