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Emotional incontinence and executive function in ischemic stroke: A case-controlled study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2009

W.K. TANG*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
YANGKUN CHEN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
WYNNIE W.M. LAM
Affiliation:
Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Organ Imaging, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
VINCENT MOK
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
ADRIAN WONG
Affiliation:
Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Organ Imaging, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
GABOR S. UNGVARI
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Y.T. XIANG
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
KA SING WONG
Affiliation:
Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Organ Imaging, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: W.K. Tang, Department of Psychiatry, Shatin Hospital, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China. E-mail: tangwk@cuhk.edu.hk.

Abstract

Frontal and basal ganglia infarcts and executive dysfunction are thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of poststroke emotional incontinence (PSEI). The study examined whether patients with PSEI have more frontal and/or basal ganglia infarcts and impairment in executive function. A total of 516 Chinese patients with acute ischemic stroke consecutively admitted to the acute stroke unit of a university-affiliated regional hospital in Hong Kong were screened for PSEI 3 months after the index stroke. According to Kim’s criteria, 39 (7.6%) had PSEI. Thirty-nine stroke patients without PSEI served as matched control group. The PSEI group had significantly more frontal and/or basal ganglia infarcts, had lower Chinese Frontal Assessment Battery scores, required more time to complete the Stroop Test, and made more omission and commission errors in the Go–NoGo test. There was no significant correlation between frontal or basal ganglia infarcts and executive function. The correlation between frontal infarct and severity of PSEI was .420. Further follow-up and functional imaging studies are warranted to explore the relationship between PSEI, brain infarcts, and executive dysfunction. (JINS, 2009, 15, 62–68.)

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © INS 2009

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