Аннотация:Background: Interesting problem is why does education play such a big role in longevity (Smith, 2012)?
We studied the impact of education on the development of chronic cerebrovascular disease associated
with mild cognitive impairment. Aim: to investigate the cerebrovascular ultrasound and
neurophysiologic characteristics of patients with vascular encephalopathy (VE) with different levels of
education in resting state and during cognitive tests.
Methods: Seventy-seven female patients with VE (age range 60-80 years) were examined. All patients
were divided into two groups: with secondary education (A) and with tertiary education (B). Patients
performed cognitive tests: verbal fluency test (VFT), Luria’s verbal memory test and the 7 serial
subtraction test (100-7). Blood pressure and heart rate were evaluated before and after cognitive tests.
Duplex scanning of main arteries of the head and the DC potentials in different areas of head were
performed. A and B groups did not differ in age. One-way ANOVA was used to determine differences
between A and B group characteristics (Statistica-7).
Results: The subjects of the B group performed better 7 subtraction test in comparison with the A group
(F=4.2, p<0.05). The heart rate reactivity during the performance of VFT was higher in the B group than
in A group (F=8.7, p=0.004). Linear velocity of blood flow of the left internal carotid artery was higher in
the B group than in A one after the Luria’s test performance (F=4.3, p<0.05). The DC potentials in the
frontal region were higher in the subjects of group B (F=6.1, p=0.02) during cognitive tests performance.
Discussion: The results show that the patients with higher education had certain advantages in
performing cognitive tests and probably better blood supply in the left hemisphere during the tests. It is
possible that not only the level of education influenced the neurophysiological and vascular differences,
but also the subsequent professional activity could affect these distinctions.
Conclusion: VE patients with secondary and tertiary education had different cognitive abilities
associated with different characteristics of cerebral blood flow.