Investigation into the vascular contributors to dementia and the associated treatments

Abstract

As the average lifespan has increased, memory disorders have become a more pressing public health concern. However, dementia in the elderly population is often neglected in light of other health priorities. Therefore, expanding the knowledge surrounding the pathology of dementia will allow more informed decision-making regarding treatment within elderly and older adult populations. An important emerging avenue in dementia research is understanding the vascular contributors to dementia. This review summarizes potential causes of vascular cognitive impairment like stroke, microinfarction, hypertension, atherosclerosis, blood-brain barrier dysfunction, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Also, this review address treatments that target these vascular impairments that also show promising results in reducing patient’s risk for and experience of dementia.

Keywords

Dementia / vascular contributors / microinfarction / amyloid

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