Vascular cognitive impairment: issues of diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

Vascular brain diseases are one of the leading causes of death and disability in developed countries. Along with acute disturbance of cerebral circulation, chronic cerebrovascular diseases, which manifest as vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), are of great medical and social importance. VCIs include a wide range of cognitive impairments (CI) ranging from subjective CI to vascular and mixed dementia. The article discusses pathogenetic and clinical variants, approaches to the diagnosis of VCIs, and provides their modern classification. The features of CI, typical for chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency, are described, such as a slowdown in the rate of mental activity and disorders of frontal executive functions in combination with behavioral and emotional disorders. The issues of treatment of VCI are discussed, which should be comprehensive and include correction of the underlying vascular disease, non-drug (regular physical activity, smoking cessation, cognitive training) and drug treatments aimed at improving cognitive functions. The possibilities of modern neuroprotective and symptomatic therapy of CI, including the use of Cellex®, are shown.