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Patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) often exhibit vascular changes in the brain. In this study, U.K. researchers used transcranial Doppler ultrasonography of the middle cerebral artery to determine the prevalence of spontaneous cerebral emboli in 84 patients with AD and 60 patients with vascular dementia. Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography was performed every 6 months for 18 months, and changes in cognition, behavior, and functional status were tracked by standardized assessment tools over a 2-year period.
Spontaneous cerebral emboli were detected in 43% of patients with AD and 45% of those with vascular dementia. Scores on every assessment scale showed greater deterioration in patients with emboli than in those without, and the effect of…