Diagnostic tools for the study of vascular cognitive dysfunction in hypertension and antihypertensive drug research.
Arterial hypertension is one of the main risk factors for cerebrovascular diseases, and antihypertensive treatment has significantly reduced their associated mortality. However, morbidity has not been reduced to a similar extent and a still increasing number of patients suffers from recurring strokes and from the disabling consequences of cerebrovascular diseases and develops progressive cognitive impairment. It is still debated to what extent antihypertensive treatment may prevent the development of cognitive dysfunction, due to the lack of a focused approach to vascular cognitive impairment, to the lack of a systematic study of the early phases of dementia, and to the use of diagnostic tests that are not sensitive and specific for a slow onset clinical condition, such as dementia. The aim of the present expert consensus report is to enlist the diagnostic tools that are currently available to assess mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early dementia and that are sensitive and specific enough to be used in observational, longitudinal, and interventional clinical research studies, aiming to investigate the impact of antihypertensive drugs on vascular dementia (VD).
Semplicini
Andrea
A
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy. andrea.semplicini@unipd.it
Amodio
Piero
P
Leonetti
Gastone
G
Cuspidi
Cesare
C
Umiltà
Carlo
C
Schiff
Sami
S
Scheltens
Philip
P
Barkhof
Frederik
F
Emanueli
Costanza
C
Cagnin
Annachiara
A
Pizzolato
Gilberto
G
Macchini
Luisa
L
Realdi
Anna
A
Royter
Vladimir
V
Bornstein
Natan M
NM
Madeddu
Paolo
P
D000818:Animals; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015415:Biomarkers; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014463:Ultrasonography
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D015415:Biomarkers