Major Vascular Neurocognitive Disorder: A Reappraisal to Vascular Dementia
Emre Kumral1, Ozan Özgören2
1Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Stroke Unit, İzmir, Turkey
2Ege University Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Neuroscience, İzmir, Turkey
Keywords: Vascular dementia, stroke, vascular mild cognitive impairment, major vascular neurocognitive impairment.
Abstract
Major vascular neurocognitive disorder (NCD) is the second leading form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, accounting for 17-20% of all dementias. Vascular NCD is a progressive disease caused by reduced cerebral blood flow related to multiple large volume or lacunar infarcts that induce a sudden onset and stepwise decline in cognitive abilities. Despite its prevalence and clinical importance, there is still controversy in the terminology of vascular NCD. Only after the release of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5) (2013) did the American Psychiatric Association define vascular dementia as “major vascular NCD”. This review includes an overview of risk factors, pathophysiology, types, diagnostic and clinical features of major vascular NCD, and current treatment options of vascular NCD regarding to DSM-5 criteria.