Clinical and neuroimaging features of chronic cerebral ischemia in polycythemia vera

Abstract

The purpose of the study. To study clinical and neuroimaging features of chronic cerebral ischemia (CCI) in polycythemia vera (PV).Materials and methods. 66 patients with PV were examined – the main group (43 men, 23 women; mean age 62.0 ± 3.4 years), of which 64 (97.0%) patients were diagnosed with CCI. The comparison group consisted of 85 patients with CCI (34 men, 51 women; mean age 67.7 ± 4.6 years), who developed against the background of cerebral vascular atherosclerosis and arterial hypertension. To identify cognitive disorders, we used Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Insomnia was studied in accordance with the criteria of the International Classification of Sleep ICDS‑22005. The quality of sleep was determined using a questionnaire from the Federal Somnological Center. Neuroimaging (MRI of the brain) was performed on Siemens Symphony 1.5 T and GE Signa 1.5 T tomographs.Results. Subjective symptoms CCI are characterized by a greater representation of asthenic and insomniac disorders. Transient ischemic attacks in patients with PV are significantly more common than in the comparison group, their frequency depends on the duration of PV. The revealed changes in MRI of the brain in the majority of PV patients with CCI are characteristic of multiinfarction vascular encephalopathy; in the comparison group, changes that characteristic for subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy were more often recorded.