Author(s): Salvatore Caratozzolo, Andrea Scalvini, Simona Cocchi, Serena Gallo Cassarino, Silvia Pelizzari, Marina Zanetti, Luca Rozzini and Alessandro Padovani
Cognitive Impairment and Dementia are not rare conditions in patients with stroke. The close link between cerebrovascular disease and dementia appears a clear public health problem. With an ischemic stroke, the onset of vascular dementia could be triggered, mostly in those patients with a pre-existing cognitive decline. The underlying mechanisms of post-stroke cognitive impairment are not known in detail. Neurodegeneration and vascular factors are activated, with coexistence, when also overlap, of these two pathological mechanisms within the neuro-vascular unit. Several works have found that acute stroke can cause changes in brain volume affecting cognitive abilities frequently, but not constantly, as found in Alzheimer’s disease patients. This review analyzes previous data on the role of stroke in initiating or promoting neurodegenerative dementia.
