Vascular dementia

Cerebrovascular disease is the second leading cause of cognitive impairment in the elderly, either alone or in combination with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Vascular dementia (VaD) is heterogeneous in terms of both clinical phenotype and pathogenetic mechanisms. It may result from multiple cortical infarctions due to cerebral large vessel pathologies or to subcortical ischemic changes such as leukoaraiosis or lacunar infarction due to cerebral small artery disease. Clinical symptoms and signs vary depending on the location and size of the stroke lesion, and no single neuropsychological profile characteristic of VaD has been defined, although dysexecutive function is common. A slightly higher mortality rate and slower progression are reported in VaD compared with AD. VaD is potentially preventable by rigorous identification and treatment of cardiovascular disease risk factors, and modest symptomatic improvement with cholinesterase inhibitors has been reported.