The risk factors and pattern of cerebral microbleeds in Parkinson's disease

Background and purpose: Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in Parkinson's disease (PD) have been reported recently and concerned increasingly. Our aim was to investigate the risk factors and pattern of CMBs in patients with PD, as well as the influence of risk factors on the pattern of CMBs. Methods: We retrospectively collected medical and imaging data of 247 patients who underwent brain susceptibility-weighted imaging. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the risk factors of CMBs. The frequency and amount of CMBs in different locations between patients with and without risk factors were analyzed. Results: Of the 247 patients with PD, 39 (15.79%) had CMBs, 27 (69.23%) had lobar CMBs, 20 (51.28%) had deep CMBs and 17 (43.59%) had infratentorial CMBs. A history of cerebral ischemic events was independently associated with the presence of CMBs (odds ratio (OR) 4.485 95% CI 2.150–9.356]; p = 0.000), especially with lobar and deep CMBs. Hypertension and Hoehn and Yahr score were also associated with the presence of deep CMBs. Only white matter hyperintensities were independently associated with the presence of infratentorial CMBs. Compared to patients without risk factors, the frequency of deep CMBs was greater in those with a history of cerebral ischemic events (p = 0.013), while the amount of deep CMBs was higher in those with hypertension (p = 0.035). Conclusion: CMBs in PD seem to present a lobe-dominant pattern. A history of cerebral ischemic events and hypertension may be two strong risk factors which preferentially influences the pattern of deep CMBs in PD.