Vascular neurocognitive disorders and the vascular risk factors

Authors

Carmen V. Albu, Craiova University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of NeurologyFollow
Vlad Padureanu, Craiova University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Internal MedicineFollow
Mihail V. Boldeanu, Craiova University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of ImmunologyFollow
Ana M. Bumbea, Craiova University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Physical Medicine and Balneology
Anca S. Enescu, Craiova University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Internal MedicineFollow
Dana M. Albulescu, Craiova University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Radiology/ Medical Imaging
Cristian A. Silosi, Craiova University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of SurgeryFollow
Aurelia Enescu, Craiova University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Internal MedicineFollow

Abstract

Dementias are clinical neurodegenerative diseases characterized by permanent and progressive transformation of cognitive functions such as memory, learning capacity, attention, thinking, language, passing judgments, calculation or orientation. Dementias represent a relatively frequent pathology, encountered at about 10% of the population of 65-year olds and 20% of the population of 80-year olds.

This review presents the main etiological forms of dementia, which include Alzheimer form of dementia, vascular dementia, dementia associated with alpha-synucleionopathies, and mixed forms. Regarding vascular dementia, the risk factors are similar to those for an ischemic or hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident: arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, obesity, age, alcohol consumption, cerebral atherosclerosis/ arteriosclerosis.

Several studies show that efficient management of the vascular risk factors can prevent the expression and/ or progression of dementia. Thus, lifestyle changes such as stress reduction, regular physical exercise, decreasing dietary fat, multivitamin supplementation, adequate control of blood pressure and serum cholesterol, and social integration and mental stimulation in the elderly population are important factors in preventing or limiting the symptoms of dementia, a disease with significant individual, social, and economic implications.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Albu, Carmen V.; Padureanu, Vlad; Boldeanu, Mihail V.; Bumbea, Ana M.; Enescu, Anca S.; Albulescu, Dana M.; Silosi, Cristian A.; and Enescu, Aurelia (2018) "Vascular neurocognitive disorders and the vascular risk factors," Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences: Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22543/7674.51.P715
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/jmms/vol5/iss1/3