title: [Vascular dementia].
abstract: Vascular dementias are the second leading cause of dementia after Alzheimer disease (AD). In recent years, the concept of "cognitive disorders of a vascular origin" has replaced that of vascular dementias. The new term combines vascular dementia in the strict sense of the term with milder cognitive disorders not including dementia but of vascular origins. Their diagnosis nonetheless remains difficult because of the diversity of vascular lesions that cause cognitive disorders and their frequent association with AD. The neuropsychological profile is frontal subcortical, with more marked damage to executive functions, and the possibility of damage to more cortical functions depending on the site of the vascular lesions. Beyond preventive treatments, there is no validated treatment and it remains essential to screen for risk factors to diminish the risk of onset of these cognitive disorders of vascular origin.
authors.affiliation: Université Lille Nord de France, centre mémoire de ressource et de recherche, CHRU de Lille, EA2691, 59037 Lille cedex, France. m-mackowiak2@chru-lille.fr
authors.forename: Marie-Anne
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mackowiak
mesh_terms: D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors