Haematology and neurology.

This review aims to update the reader on advances in the understanding of haematological conditions that may arise in neurological practice. Thrombophilia, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, sickle cell and clonal disorders associated with neuropathy are discussed.

Cognitive dysfunction in patients with cerebral microbleeds on T2*-weighted gradient-echo MRI.

Gradient echo T2*-weighted MRI has high sensitivity in detecting cerebral microbleeds, which appear as small dot-like hypointense lesions. Microbleeds are strongly associated with intracerebral haemorrhage, hypertension, lacunar stroke and ischaemic small vessel disease, and have generated interest as a marker of bleeding-prone microangiopathy. Microbleeds have generally been considered to be clinically silent; however, since they are located in widespread cortical and basal ganglia regions and are histologically characterized by tissue damage, we hypothesized that they would cause cognitive dysfunction.