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Review
. 2023 Jul 19;13(7):1094.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci13071094.

Biological Risk Factors Influencing Vascular Cognitive Impairments: A Review of the Evidence

Silvina Iluț  1   2 , Ştefan Cristian Vesa  3 , Vitalie Văcăraș  1   2 , Lavinia Brăiță  1 , Vlad-Constantin Dăscălescu  1 , Ioana Fantu  1 , Dafin-Fior Mureșanu  1   2   4
Affiliations
Review

Biological Risk Factors Influencing Vascular Cognitive Impairments: A Review of the Evidence

Silvina Iluț et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

Vascular cognitive impairment encompasses several types of deficits, ranging from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. Cognitive reserve refers to the brain's ability to balance damage and improve performance through certain types of brain networks. The purpose of this review was to assess the relationship between reserve in vascular impairment, specifically looking at whether cognitive impairment is influenced by cognitive reserve, identifying significant vascular risk factors and their pathological pathways. To achieve this purpose, a review covering these issues was conducted within the Embase, Cochrane, and PubMed database. A total of 657 scientific articles were found, and 33 papers were considered for the final analysis. We concluded that there is no consensus on the protective effects of brain reserve on cognitive impairment. Stroke and diabetes can be considered significant risk factors for vascular cognitive impairment, while hypertension is not as damaging as blood pressure variability, which structurally alters the brain through a variety of mechanisms.

Keywords: blood pressure variability; cognitive reserve; stroke; vascular risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA diagram of the study’s selection process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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