Clinical Research Directory

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 years and above * History of recent (less than 15 days) neurological deficit related to a small subcortical infarct (evidenced by medical history or physical examination) * Diagnosis of recent small subcortical infarct on MRI (hyperintensity on diffusion-weighted imaging showing an infarction in the territory of one perforating artery) presumably responsible for the corresponding neurological deficit * Lesion diameter mess than 20 mm * Ability to comply with scheduled follow-up and annual neurological evaluation * Affiliation to the national French health insurance (sécurité sociale) * Signature of informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Prior diagnosis of dementia according to DSM IV criteria * Prior severe disability with Rankin scale ≥ 4 * Serious concomitant systemic disorder that can compromise the follow-up study; * Leukoencephalopathy of non-vascular origin; * Severe psychiatric disorder; * Inability to obtain an informed signed consent from the patient or his/her family; * Medical contraindication or refusal to undergo cerebral magnetic resonance scanning (MRI).