Performance on the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale in Patients with Vascular Dementia: Relationships to Neuroimaging Findings

Abstract

Impairment on screening measures such as the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS) provides evidence of demen tia in patients with cerebrovascular disease. However, the relationships between neuroimaging findings and performance on the MDRS in vascular dementia (VD) have not been determined. In the present study, we exam ined the relationships between subcortical hyperintensity (SH) volume and whole brain volume (WBV) on the subscales and total score of the MDRS. Results revealed that SH accounted for a significant amount of variance on the Initiation/Perseveration and Construction subscales, whereas WBV accounted for a significant amount of vari ance on the Memory subscale. The total score on the MDRS was found to be significantly related to WBV but not SH. These results suggest that subcortical damage and brain volume account for different aspects of cognitive decline in VD and that overall cognitive impairment may reflect cortical and subcortical involvement. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2001; 14:33-36).