Affiliations: [a] Clinical Psychology Program, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| [b] Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida Tampa, FL, USA
| [c] James A. Haley VA Medical Center, Tampa, FL, USA
| [d] Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| [e] Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute, Tampa, FL, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Saeid Taheri, PhD, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC 30, Tampa, FL 33612, USA. Tel.: +1 813 974 7051; Fax: +1 813 974 9890; E-mail: taheris@health.usf.edu.
Abstract: Vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) is a diagnostic term applied to cognitively impaired individuals with heterogeneous cerebrovascular conditions affecting large and/or small vessels. Individual biomarkers have been identified as instrumental in relating VCID to specific underlying pathologies to better characterize this syndrome. Emerging research to refine panels of biomarkers will increase classification sensitivity and specificity. Refined VCID clustering based on the severity and pathology of vascular injury will permit the development of optimal prevention and treatment strategies. Here, we review recently reported data concerning the diversity of VCID-related pathology and attempts for VCID clustering based on biomarkers obtained from different sets of measurements. We discuss three major sets of biomarkers: 1) neuroimaging biomarkers, 2) neuropsychological performance measures, and 3) biochemical markers in current VCID clustering. Finally, we highlight the effect of blood-brain barrier health on cerebrovascular disease trajectory.
