Virtual Medical Centre

Vascular Dementia (Multi-infarct Dementia)

• What is Vascular Dementia?
• Who gets Vascular Dementia?
• Predisposing Factors
• Probable Outcomes
• How Will Vascular Dementia Affect Me?
• How is Vascular Dementia Diagnosed?
• How is Vascular Dementia treated?
• Vascular Dementia References
• Drugs/Products Associated with Vascular Dementia

What is Vascular Dementia?

Vascular dementia is a type of dementia caused by multiple small or large strokes in the brain.

Who gets Vascular Dementia?

Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia, after Alzheimer's disease. The incidence of vascular dementia increases with increasing age. Overall, dementia affects about 10% of those aged over 65 years with 20% of those over 80 years suffering from severe dementia.

Predisposing Factors

The most common cause of vascular dementia is the blockage of small arteries supplying areas of the brain. In classical stroke, large blood vessels are blocked, resulting in the death of brain tissue supplied by that artery. In vascular dementia, the vessels blocked are very small, resulting in the death of small areas of brain tissue on the outer surface of the brain called the cerebral cortex. As this area is responsible for higher thought processes, small areas of damage result in the disordered thought seen in vascular dementia.

The predisposing factors for vascular dementia, therefore, are similar to the risk factors for stroke. These include:

• Hypertension
• Hypercholesterolemia
• Smoking
• Diabetes mellitus
• A personal or family history of vascular disease