scholarly journals Vascular dementia: a pragmatic review

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 372-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh Series ◽  
Margaret Esiri

SummaryVascular dementia is associated with a group of diverse pathologies affecting the cerebrovascular circulation and with other dementia pathologies, particularly Alzheimer's disease. It is rather rare on its own. There is a spectrum of severity of cerebrovascular disease ranging from pathology but no cognitive impairment, to mild cognitive impairment to a dementia syndrome (vascular dementia). Where present, cerebrovascular disease can magnify the impact of other pathologies such as Alzheimer's disease. Current criteria for diagnosing vascular dementia are inadequate. Neuroimaging can be very helpful in defining the extent of pathology. Assessment needs to take into account a wide range of issues. Specific evidence-based treatments are limited, but attention should be given to managing risk factors and associated psychiatric problems such as depression.

Author(s):  
Hugh Markus ◽  
Anthony Pereira ◽  
Geoffrey Cloud

Patients with cerebrovascular disease can develop dementia in the absence of stroke symptoms or as a consequence to stroke. In this chapter, concepts, classification, and definitions of vascular dementia are outlined with a discussion of the overlap between vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Investigation of the vascular dementia patient for treatable causes and to inform management is discussed as there are sections on therapy, promoting independence, and assessments of mental capacity. Depression is common in vascular dementia and a section is dedicated to the assessment and management of this. The concept of mild vascular cognitive impairment is also discussed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-357 ◽  

There is a strong association between late-life depression, cognitive impairment, cerebrovascular disease, and poor cognitive outcomes, including progressive dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease. While neuroimaging evidence suggests that cerebrovascular disease plays a prominent role, it seems that depression alone may also confer substantial risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. The relationships between the prominent cerebrovascular changes, other structural abnormalities, specific forms of cognitive dysfunction, and increased risk for developing Alzheimer's disease among those with late-life depression have been difficult to reconcile. The varied findings suggest that there are likely multiple pathways to poor cognitive outcomes. We present a framework outlining multiple, non-mutually exclusive etiologic links between depression, cognitive impairment, and progressive decline, including dementia. Importantly, the model is both testable and falsifiable. Going forward, using models such as this to inform research should accelerate knowledge acquisition on the depression/dementia relationship that may be useful for dementia prevention, monitoring the impact of depression treatment on clinical status and course of illness.


2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arpita Chakraborty ◽  
Samir Kumar Praharaj ◽  
R. V. Krishnananda Prabhu ◽  
M. Mukhyaprana Prabhu

AbstractBackgroundMore than half portion of the brain is formed by lipids. They play critical roles in maintaining the brain's structural and functional components. Any dysregulation in these brain lipids can lead to cognitive dysfunction which are associated with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, vascular dementia etc. Studies have linked lipids with cognitive impairment. But not much has been studied about the complex brain lipids which might play a pivotal role in cognitive impairment. This review aims to highlight the lipidomic profiles in patients with cognitive dysfunction.ResultsForty-five articles were reviewed. These studies show alterations in complex lipids such as sphingolipids, phospholipids, glycolipids and sterols in brain in various neurological disorders such as vascular dementia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. However, the classes of fatty acids in these lipids involved are different across studies.ConclusionsThere is a need for targeted lipidomics analysis, specifically including sphingolipids in patients with neurodegenerative disorders so as to improve diagnostics as well as management of these disorders.


Stroke ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Graff-Radford ◽  
Rosebud Roberts ◽  
Malini Madhavan ◽  
Alejandro Rabinstein ◽  
Ruth Cha ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional associations of atrial fibrillation with neuroimaging measures of cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease-related pathology, and their interaction with cognitive impairment. MRI scans of non-demented individuals (n=1044) from the population-based Mayo Clinic Study of Aging were analyzed for infarctions, total grey matter, hippocampal and white matter hyperintensity volumes. A subset of 496 individuals underwent FDG and C-11 Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) PET scans. We assessed the associations of atrial fibrillation with i) categorical MRI measures (cortical and subcortical infarctions) using multivariable logistic regression models, and with ii) continuous MRI measures ( hippocampal, total grey matter, and white matter hyperintensity volumes) and FDG-PET and PiB-PET measures using multivariable linear regression models, and adjusting for confounders. Among participants who underwent MRI (median age, 77.8, 51.6% male), 13.5% had atrial fibrillation. Presence of atrial fibrillation was associated with subcortical infarctions (odds ratio [OR], 1.83; p=0.002), cortical infarctions (OR, 1.91; p=0.03), total grey matter volume (Beta [β], -.025, p<.0001) after controlling for age, education, gender, APOE e4 carrier status, coronary artery disease, diabetes, history of clinical stroke, and hypertension. However, atrial fibrillation was not associated with white matter hyperintensity volume, hippocampal volume, Alzheimer’s pattern of FDG hypometabolism or PiB uptake. There was a significant interaction of cortical infarction (p for interaction=0.004) and subcortical infarction (p for interaction =0.015) with atrial fibrillation with regards to odds of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Using subjects with no atrial fibrillation and no infarction as the reference, the OR (95% confidence intervals [CI]) for MCI was 2.98 (1.66, 5.35;p = 0.0002) among participants with atrial fibrillation and any infarction, 0.69 (0.36, 1.33;p= 0.27) for atrial fibrillation and no infarction, and 1.50 (0.96, 2.32;p = 0.07) for no atrial fibrillation and any infarction. These data highlight that atrial fibrillation is associated with MCI in the presence of infarctions.


Author(s):  
Francis Cambronero ◽  
Angela L. Jefferson

Hemodynamic impairment is a prominent feature in aging, vascular cognitive impairment and dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease, including patterned changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) that can be detected prior to concomitant pathologies. These CBF abnormalities drive vascular dysfunction through a variety of biological pathways and ultimately contribute to cerebrovascular disease associated with cognitive impairment. Importantly, the co-existence of cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease is exceedingly common and worsens the progression of clinical symptoms, likely through accelerating neurotoxic protein deposition and the loss of cerebrovascular integrity. Emerging evidence further suggests that the brain may be more susceptible to subclinical cardiovascular dysfunction in aging adults, particularly since the accumulation of cardiovascular risk factors over the lifespan creates a more vulnerable vascular system. Although age-associated CBF dysregulation has varied and complex origins, it undoubtedly serves a critical role in the early progression of neurodegenerative disease and may help explain the considerable overlap between the most common clinical dementias.


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