A study of cases and controls was performed to define the factors associated with nonembolic cerebral infarction and to compare the risk profiles of extensive cortical infarction (ECI) to those of lacunar infarction (LI). One hundred and four patients with ECI were matched with 71 patients with LI and with 90 controls. Although the initial analysis disclosed multiple factors associated with cerebral infarction, the analysis with control of the factors revealed that the only factors related with the occurrence of atherothrombotic infarction were: arterial hypertension [odds ratio (OR) = 6.8], diabetes mellitus (OR = 5.6), ischemic cardiac disease (OR = 5.5), increased hematocrit value (OR = 3.0), and atherogenic lipids in patients without arterial hypertension nor diabetes. Diabetes appeared as the only factor specifically associated with LI when compared with ECI (OR = 2.1). This study supports the following conclusions: 1) the risk profile of nonembolic cerebral infarction is concise and intelligible, 2) the possible role of arterial hypertension in the genesis of LI was not confirmed, and 3) diabetic microangiopathy may be implicated in the genesis of most of LI. Conclusions from this retrospective study should be taken as an interpretation of the results since some restriction in the sensitivity of the data analysis was deliberately introduced.