Biological Risk Factors Influencing Vascular Cognitive Impairments: A Review of the Evidence

Overview

Journal Brain Sci

Publisher MDPI

Date 2023 Jul 29

PMID 37509024

Authors

Silvina Ilut

Stefan Cristian Vesa

Vitalie Vacaras

Lavinia Braita

Vlad-Constantin Dascalescu

Ioana Fantu

Dafin-Fior Muresanu

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Vascular cognitive impairment encompasses several types of deficits, ranging from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. Cognitive reserve refers to the brain's ability to balance damage and improve performance through certain types of brain networks. The purpose of this review was to assess the relationship between reserve in vascular impairment, specifically looking at whether cognitive impairment is influenced by cognitive reserve, identifying significant vascular risk factors and their pathological pathways. To achieve this purpose, a review covering these issues was conducted within the Embase, Cochrane, and PubMed database. A total of 657 scientific articles were found, and 33 papers were considered for the final analysis. We concluded that there is no consensus on the protective effects of brain reserve on cognitive impairment. Stroke and diabetes can be considered significant risk factors for vascular cognitive impairment, while hypertension is not as damaging as blood pressure variability, which structurally alters the brain through a variety of mechanisms.

Citing Articles

Functional Connectivity and MRI Radiomics Biomarkers of Cognitive and Brain Reserve in Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment Prediction-A Study Protocol.

Dragos H, Stan A, Popa L, Pintican R, Feier D, Draghici N Life (Basel). 2025; 15(1).

PMID: 39860071 PMC: 11767096. DOI: 10.3390/life15010131.

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