Staging and natural history of cerebrovascular pathology in dementia.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Most pathologic studies indicate that significant vascular changes are found in the majority of elderly persons, either alone or in association with neurodegenerative processes such as Alzheimer disease (AD) or dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Cumulative burden of cerebrovascular lesions can explain cognitive decline described as vascular cognitive impairment, but because there is a lack of consensus in the best way to quantify vascular pathology, the relationship between cognitive decline and cerebrovascular disease remains uncertain. We developed a rating scheme for cerebrovascular lesions using postmortem brains from patients with dementia from 2 European tertiary care memory clinics.

Methods

A total of 135 brains with a neuropathologic diagnosis of vascular dem

SUBMITTER: Deramecourt V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3317531 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature