Cognitive and cerebral hemodynamic impairment in scleroderma patients

Background and purposes: Neurological involvement in systemic sclerosis is unusual despite the possible cerebral localization of vascular lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate cognitive performances and cerebral vasoreactivity in young scleroderma patients without any signs or symptoms of nervous system involvement. Methods: Sixteen scleroderma patients and 16 sex‐ and age‐matched healthy subjects without vascular risk factors were included. A neuropsychological assessment for the evaluation of different areas of cognition was performed. For an assessment of cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), each subject was submitted to hypercapnia with transcranial Doppler ultrasonography using the Breath‐Holding Index (BHI). Results: Patients had significantly lower adjusted mean levels of performance with respect to controls in the Modified Card Sorting Test (P