Vascular Dementia

Vascular dementia is a disorder of cognition that is caused by cerebrovascular disease. The pathophysiology of vascular dementia is complex and involves interaction between risk factors and changes in cerebral blood vessels that result in pathologies that include infarcts, white matter ischemia, hemorrhage and atrophy. Newer mechanisms that contribute to the pathogenesis include microinfarcts, microbleeds and neurovascular decoupling. Diagnosis of vascular dementia requires a comprehensive cognitive and functional evaluation, neuroimaging and establishing the underlying pathophysiological mechanism. Treatment includes risk factor control, symptomatic therapy, strategies to improve neurovascular function and rehabilitation. Large scale preventive measures are crucial to reduce global burden of vascular dementia.