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What is Vascular dementia?
Vascular dementia is most often caused by either a: Complete blockage of blood vessels in the brain. The complete blockage of an artery in the brain usually causes a stroke (infarction), but some blockages don't produce stroke symptoms. These "silent brain infarctions" increase a person's risk of vascular dementia. The risk increases with the number of infarctions experienced over time. One variety of vascular dementia is called multi-infarct dementia. Heart disease and irregular heart rhythms, such as atrial fibrillation, can increase your risk of stroke.; Narrowing of the blood vessels in the brain. Vascular dementia also can occur without a complete blockage of an artery. Portions of...
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Also known as dlb, lewy body dementia, dementia, vascular, Binswanger Disease, Binswanger's Disease, chronic brain syndrome, Vascular Dementias, Subcortical Vascular Dementia, Arteriosclerotic Dementia, Subcortical Arteriosclerotic Encephalopathy, Binswanger Encephalopathy, Binswanger's Encephalopathy, Binswangers Disease, Subcortical Leukoencephalopathy, Chronic Progressive Subcortical Encephalopathy, Acute Onset Vascular Dementia, Arteriosclerotic Dementias, Subcortical Vascular Dementias, Binswangers Encephalopathy, Subcortical Arteriosclerotic Encephalopathies, Subcortical Leukoencephalopathies, Encephalopathy, Subcortical, Chronic Progressive
Vascular dementia information from trusted sources:
Vascular dementia
Vascular dementia is an umbrella term that describes impairments in cognitive function caused by problems in blood vessels that feed the brain. Read more on
www.mayoclinic.com
Dementia
Vascular dementia is caused when there is an interruption to the blood supply to the brain. Read more on
www.nhs.uk
Dementia
Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior. See also: Alzheimer's disease Read more on
www.nlm.nih.gov
Dementia With Lewy Bodies
Dementia is a progressive (gradually worsening) decline of mental abilities that disturbs "cognitive" functions such as memory, thought processes, and speech as well as behavior, and movements. Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the name for a group of disorders in which dementia is caused by the presence of Lewy bodies in the brain. Lewy bodies are small round clumps of normal proteins that for unknown reasons become abnormally clumped together inside neurons (brain cells). Whether the Lewy bodies directly cause gradual degeneration (damage) to the brain cells, impairing their function and eventually killing them, or are only a marker of some other destructive process is not known. Lewy bodies are named after Frederich Lewy, the doctor who first described them in 1912. Dr. Lewy first found Lewy bodies in the brains of people with Parkinson disease. Parkinson disease is a condition best known for disrupting body movements. The most common of these "motor" symptoms are tremor (shaking or trembling) of the hands (that mainly occurs when the hands are at rest and not moving), rigidity (stiffness) of the trunk and limbs, slowness of movement, and loss of balance and coordination. Estimates vary from 30-60% about what percentage of people with Parkinson disease develop dementia. Scientists later discovered cases of Alzheimer-type dementia linked to Lewy bodies. This was thought to be very rare, but as tests of brain tissue improved, it became clear that Lewy bodies were fairly common and were linked to several different types of dementia. A type of dementia similar to but different from Alzheimer disease was recognized and called DLB. DLB is now believed to be the second or third most common type of dementia after Alzheimer disease, accounting for about 10-20% of all dementias. (There is controversy about whether DLB or vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia.) The relationship between DLB and Parkinson disease is not completely understood. When motor symptoms appear first and predominate over cognitive symptoms, the diagnosis is believed to be Parkinson disease. When cognitive impairment and behavioral disturbances are prominent early symptoms, DLB is believed to be the diagnosis. DLB is a disease of aging. People affected by DLB are usually elderly or in late middle age. Read more on
www.emedicinehealth.com
Dementia
Dementia (duh-men-shuh) is an illness that effects a person's thinking and memory. It also affects ability to problem solve and make the right decisions. Dementia also causes problems in communicating with others. It may cause you to be confused and have problems driving, cooking, or bathing. You may also have changes in how you act. Dementia affects how you feel about yourself and life. It is a serious illness and usually gets worse. With treatment, the effects of dementia can be controlled. Treatment will allow you to live life as you usually would for a longer time. Read more on
www.pdrhealth.com
Prohance Multipack
ProHance (Gadoteridol) Injection is indicated for use in MRI in adults and children over 2 years of age to visualize lesions with abnormal vascularity in the brain (intracranial lesions), spine and associated tissues. Read more on
www.druglib.com
Prohance
ProHance (Gadoteridol) Injection is a nonionic contrast medium for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), available as a 0.5M sterile clear colorless to slightly yellow aqueous solution in vials and syringes for intravenous injection. Central Nervous System ProHance (Gadoteridol) Injection is indicated for use in MRI in adults and children over 2 years of age to visualize lesions with abnormal vascularity in the brain (intracranial lesions), spine and associated tissues. Read more on
dailymed.nlm.nih.gov
Vascular Dementia: eMedicine Psychiatry
Oct 29, 2010 ... Overview: Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer disease (AD). The condition is not a single disease; ... Read more on
emedicine.medscape.com
Alzheimer's Association - Vascular Dementia
Nov 17, 2010 ... Vascular dementia is widely considered the second most common type of dementia. It develops when impaired blood flow to parts of the brain ... Read more on
www.alz.org
Multi-infarct dementia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Multi-infarct dementia, is one type of vascular dementia. Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease (AD) in ... Read more on
en.wikipedia.org
Contents
Coping and support
Vascular dementia can be difficult for both the person with the disorder and his or her caregiver.
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Preparing for your appointment
You may first be seen at the hospital if you've had a stroke. Or, if your symptoms are mild, you may start by first seeing your family doctor or a general practitioner. However, you'll likely be referred to a doctor who specializes in disorders of the nervous system (neurologist).
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Prevention
Changing the following modifiable risk factors may help you prevent vascular dementia: A healthy blood pressure. Keeping your blood pressure in the normal range can help prevent dementia in general. One study showed that the risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia was halved in people who controlled their high blood pressure with a calcium channel blocker. The use of a diuretic plus an ACE inhibitor may slightly reduce the risk of dementia.; Normal cholesterol levels. Cholesterol-lowering medications can reduce your risk of vascular dementia, probably by reducing the amounts of deposits building up inside the brain's arteries.; Prevent or control diabetes. Avoiding the onset of...
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Risk factors
Risk factors for vascular dementia include: Increasing age. This is one of the biggest risk factors for vascular dementia. The disorder is rare before the age of 65. And people in their 80s and 90s are much more likely to have vascular dementia than people in their 60s and 70s.; History of stroke. The brain damage that occurs with strokes appears to increase the risk of developing dementia.; Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Atherosclerosis occurs when plaque builds up in your arteries and narrows your blood vessels. This can increase your risk of vascular dementia.; High blood pressure. Hypertension puts extra pressure on blood vessels throughout the body. This increases the...
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Symptoms
Vascular dementia symptoms can vary, depending on the portion of the brain that's affected. People with vascular dementia can experience: Confusion and agitation; Problems with memory; Unsteady gait; Urinary frequency, urgency or incontinence; Night wandering; Depression; A decline in the ability to organize thoughts or actions; Difficulty planning ahead; Trouble communicating details sequentially; Memory loss; Poor attention and concentration
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Tests and diagnosis
If vascular dementia is suspected, your doctor may recommend one or more of the following tests: Computerized tomography (CT). A CT scan uses special X-ray equipment to produce a cross-sectional image showing a slice of your body's organs and tissues. A contrast material may be injected to help highlight any abnormalities in your brain's blood vessels.; Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI scan uses radio waves and a strong magnetic field to produce detailed images of internal organs and tissues. In some cases, contrast material may be injected to produce even more detailed pictures. Some people experience a feeling similar to claustrophobia when they're inside an MRI machine. If you...
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Treatments and drugs
There is no cure for vascular dementia and no drugs have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat it. However, medications designed to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease also appear to help people with vascular dementia.
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