Cerebrovascular and cardiovascular pathology in Alzheimer's disease.
Presently, compelling evidence indicates that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a vascular disorder with neurodegenerative consequences and should be treated as such. A substantial body of evidence including epidemiological, pharmacotherapeutic, and neuroimaging studies support the concept of AD as a vascular disorder or vasocognopathy that initiates as brain hypoperfusion, creating a neuronal energy crisis. The neuronal energy crisis provokes the cellular and molecular changes that characterize this dementia. In this brief review, the many vascular-related risk factors to AD including some that are preventable or amenable to treatment are discussed. Considerable human data now point in a new direction for guiding future research into AD. This new research direction should open a window of opportunity for decisive management and treatment of this devastating disorder.
de la Torre
Jack C
JC
Sun Health Research Institute, Center for Alzheimer's Research, Sun City, Arizona 85351, USA.
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D012307:Risk Factors