Objective      To adopt brain CT perfusion imaging (CTPI) technology to assess whether cognitive impairment is associated with cerebral blood flow changes after the first-time transient ischemic attack (TIA).       Methods      Fifty patients were diagnosed with the first-time anterior circulation TIA and normal cognition in August 2009 to August 2014 at the department of Neurology

  and underwent CTPI examination in 1 week after onset to monitor the cerebral blood volume (CBV)

cerebral blood flow (CBF)

mean transit time (MTT)

and time to peak (TTP). After 4 weeks

the patients received cognitive assessment

and according to the assessment results

the patients were divided into  vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) group and  control group. Early CTPI perfusion parameters of the 2 groups were compared

and the relationship between cognitive assessment scores and the perfusion parameters was analyzed.        Results      The VCI group and the control group had similar results in age

sex

hypertension

hyperlipidemia

diabetes

hyperhomocysteinemia

average time of TIA seizures and average time of complete CTPI

and the baselines had no statistical significant differences. Compared with the control group

the VCI group showed lower CBF

and longer MTT and TTP

and the differences were statistically significant (P0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in CBV between the 2 groups. Spearman correlation analysis indicated that MTT was negatively correlated with the scores of Montreal cognitive assessment (r=-0.51

P=0.009).        Conclusion      The reduced cerebral blood flow after TIA is correlated with cognitive impairment

and CTPI is helpful for early diagnosis of VCI.