Brain atrophy in African stroke survivors: The CogFAST Nigeria study

Abstract

Introduction: Cerebral atrophy is a common accompaniment of ageing and several neurological conditions. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was used to compare brain volumes of stroke survivors with stroke-free controls in this first report from sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: Participants comprised 45 stroke patients and 54 stroke-free controls. Structural brain MR images were acquired from participants and volumes of grey, white matters and CSF extracted. Results: The % of white matter in Intracranial Volume (ICV) (strokc:0.45±0.03, control: 0.47±0.03, p=0.02) and the % of total brain volume in ICV (stroke:0.85±0.03, control: 0.87±0.02, p=0.002) were significantly greater in the controls than stroke patients. The % of CSF in ICV (strokc:0.15±0.03, control:0.13±0.03, p=0.002) was significantly smaller in the controls than the stroke patients. The controls (68.9± 10.0 years, p<0.001) were significantly older than the stroke (59.8±11.0 years) subjects. When adjusted for age, the % of white matter in ICV (malc:0.44±0.03, fcmalc:0.46±0.04, p=0.043) was significantly less in male than female in the stroke group. Conclusions: Our results showed that stroke patients develop greater brain atrophy compared to controls. We also found that male stroke patients had greater white matter atrophy than their female counterparts. These findings may have implications for cognitive functions in stroke patients.