Subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (Binswanger's disease). Presentation of two cases.

Subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (SAE) (Binswanger's disease) was previously diagnosed almost exclusively at autopsy and considered to be very rare. Recent studies, however, indicate that an in vivo diagnosis might be made by means of computed tomography (CT) or nuclear magnetic resonance, resulting in a much more frequent recognition of this chronic encephalopathy of middle-aged, hypertensive patients. Two cases are presented, in which the clinical and CT findings made a diagnosis of SAE very probable.