Cerebrovascular disease and dementia – new insights into links

While the link between stroke and an increased risk of dementia is well known, comparatively little is understood about the association between dementia and diseases of blood vessels within the brain. Given the prevalence of these diseased vessels in the elderly population, researchers from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center (IL, USA) looked to investigate this potential contribution to Alzheimer’s disease risk in their most recent study. The team reviewed medical and pathologic data from 1143 deceased individuals over the age of 65 that had donated their brains for research. Of this cohort, 42% had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, 39%...