Investigation by cerebral biopsy of patients with dementia associated with cerebral atrophy permits the examination of clinico-pathochemical relationships, and provides a means of distinguishing and classifying forms of cerebral atrophy. Benefits of the procedure must however be weighed against possible adverse effects of surgical intervention. The study examines the outcome following biopsy of 24 patients with presenile dementia. No major operative complications were encountered, and recovery was uneventful in all but a single patient. The relevance of the findings to the study of dementia by cerebral biopsy is discussed.
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