Periventricular lucencies on computed tomography in multiple cerebral infarcts: correlation with cerebral blood flow measurements.

Forty-nine patients with multiple cerebral infarcts with a mean age of 70.2 years were studied to elucidate the effect of periventricular lucencies (PVLs) on cerebral blood flow (CBF). Patients with multiple cerebral infarcts showed significantly lower mean cortical blood flow (F1) values compared to 15 age-matched normal subjects (p less than .01). The mean F1 values were most significantly decreased in severe group of PVLs and moderately decreased in moderate and mild groups (p less than .05 between severe and mild groups); however, no significant differences in mean F1 values were found between severe and moderate groups. Demented patients showed significantly lower F1 values compared to nondemented patients (p less than .001) and normal subjects (p less than .001). There was no significant difference in the degree of PVL between demented and nondemented groups. As well, the mean F1 values were not significantly correlated with either the number of infarcts or ventricular dilatation. These results suggest that PVLs on CT (especially in severe cases of PVLs) may have some role in the reduction of cortical blood flow in patients with multiple cerebral infarcts.