Definition
The term vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) refers to the entire continuum of neurobehavioral deficits associated with different vascular pathologies. This continuum ranges from subtle deficits in at least one cognitive domain, such as executive functioning and processing speed, to clear deficits in several cognitive domains. Thus, VCI can be observed in patients who do not meet criteria for dementia, but screen positive for a history of vascular pathology, as well as in patients with vascular dementia. VCI can also be a comorbid condition in other mixed dementias, such as Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) with vascular components. More recently, VCI has been proposed as a means to identify and treat patients in earlier stages of cerebrovascular disease.
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References and Reading
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Rau, H., Ziemnik, R., Suchy, Y. (2018). Vascular Cognitive Impairment. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_496-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_496-2
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