• S Sveinbjornsdottir, S Sigurdsson, T Aspelund, O Kjartansson, G Eiriksdottir, B Valtysdottir, O L Lopez, M A van Buchem, P V Jonsson, V Gudnason, and L J Launer.
• Department of Neurology, Landspitali University Hospital, C12, Fossvogur, 108 Reykjavik, Iceland. sigurls@landspitali.is
• J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. 2008 Sep 1; 79 (9): 1002-6.

Background And PurposeIncidental foci of signal loss suggestive of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are frequent findings on gradient echo T2* weighted MRI (T2* MRI) of patients with haemorrhagic or ischaemic stroke. There are few prevalence data on older populations. This paper reports on the prevalence and location of CMBs in a community based cohort of older men and women (born 1907-1935) who participated in the Age Gene/Environment Susceptibility (AGES)-Reykjavik Study, a population based cohort study that followed the Reykjavik StudyMethodsAs part of the examination, all eligible and consenting cohort members underwent a full brain MRI, and blood was drawn for genotyping. Results are based on the first 1962 men (n = 820) and women (n = 1142), mean age 76 years, with complete MRI and demographic information available.ResultsEvidence of CMBs was found in 218 participants (11.1% (95% CI 9.8% to 12.6%)); men had significantly more CMBs than women (14.4% vs 8.8%; p = 0.0002, age adjusted). The prevalence of CMBs increased with age (p = 0.0001) in both men (p = 0.006) and women (p = 0.007). CMBs were located in the cerebral lobes (70%), the basal ganglia region (10.5%) and infratentorium (18.6%). Having a CMB was significantly associated with a homozygote Apo E epsilon4epsilon4 genotype (p = 0.01).ConclusionCerebral microbleeds are common in older persons. The association with homozygote Apo E epsilon4 genotype and finding a relative predominance in the parietal lobes might indicate an association with amyloid angiopathy.

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