The article reports on 38 patients with subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (SAE). The clinical, electrophysiological, computer tomographical and pathoanatomical findings are described and explained by means of typical examples. Intermittent and fluctuating neurological signs--often appearing at intervals of several years--as well as a slowly progressing dementia, can be a clinical indication of SAE, especially in patients who have been known to suffer from hypertension for many years. Since, however, the clinical complex of signs is usually unspecific, clinical diagnosis must be confirmed by a morphological findings. This has now become possible by making use of computerised tomography. However, it should not be overlooked that the extent of the morphological changes observed need not agree in any way with the severity of the clinical complex of signs; case histories are given in detail as examples. Since pathologico-anatomically identified severe arteriosclerotic changes of the long medullary arteries are most probably the cause of the hypoxically conditioned diffuse vacuolous demyelinisation of the medullary layer, computerised tomography yields an important indirect pointer to the condition of the cerebral vascular periphery. This additional information seems to be important in arriving at an indication for invasive diagnostic or surgical procedures relating to the vascular system.
