[Vascular dementia--a concise concept?].
Although cerebrovascular disease are the most common causes of dementia after Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia (VD) has remained so far an ill-defined term. The main problems in the definition of VD arise from finding criteria for both terms "vascular" and "dementia". The detailed criteria for the diagnosis of VD proposed by several groups or institutions (ADDTC, DSM-IV, ICD-10, NINDS-ARIEN) are critically reviewed. The diagnostic value of some clinical findings, especially the very frequent white matter luciencies in CT (leuko-araiosis), are discussed. The available studies suggest a differentiation of VD into some subtypes (listed according to the frequency): subcortical VD, VD with acute onset, multi-infarct-dementia, mixed types, and specific forms. Nevertheless, these subtypes give only little information about the etiology of the underlying vascular process and, therefore, no clear indication for specific therapeutic strategies.
Wetterling
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Klinik für Psychiatrie, Medizinische Universität zu Lübeck.
D000368:Aged; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis; D015161:Dementia, Multi-Infarct / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed