Vascular dementia

Disease class: Cerebrovascular disorders

Disease class: Dementia

Disease class: Leukoencephalopathies

VD is the second most common cause of dementia. 

 

Pathophysiology

This is dementia caused by a series of small infarctions in the brain (strokes). Each infarction kills some neurons. With enough infarctions throughout the brain, the neuronal loss accumulates.

Symptoms

These patients often present with impaired cognition, impaired memory, and personality changes.

Prognosis

There may be a history of strokes (cerebrovascular infarctions). The disease progression is classically step-by-step, with dramatic deteriorations after each new infarction. It can appear to be a gradual decline in patients with very frequent, very small brain infarctions. It may develop over months or decades, but the changes are irreversible.