Key result
Cognitive decline in vascular encephalopathy is associated with decreased reactivity of the cardiovascular system, cerebral blood flow, and direct current potentials of the brain during cognitive load.
Why the study?
Increasing life expectancy brings more chronic cerebrovascular disease with progressive cognitive decline, necessitating new approaches to study pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment.
In patients with chronic cerebrovascular disorders, reduced autonomic reactivity (blood pressure, heart rate) and altered hemispheric asymmetry are associated with worse cognitive performance.
Does not support clinical use of reactivity measures yet; leaves open causal mechanisms and intervention targets in vascular encephalopathy.
The increase in life expectancy is accompanied by an increase in the number of patients suffering from chronic cerebrovascular diseases with progressive cognitive decline, up to dementia. Therefore, the search for new approaches to studying the disease pathogenesis, prevention and treatment is relevant. We analysed the data on correlation of cognitive characteristics with reactions of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and ANS-regulated systems in normal aging and in patients with vascular encephalopathy (VE). Reactivity of cerebral blood flow as a result of cortical-ANS interaction was studied, characteristics of cerebral blood flow influencing the interhemispheric energetic processes (studied with direct current potentials of the brain) were analyzed, and correlation of blood pressure and heart rate with cognitive characteristics were assessed. Since the signs of cognitive decline are observed during normal aging and VE, an attempt was made to analyze the dependence of cognitive and ANS functions not only on VE, but also on the age. We showed some specific features of cortical-ANS interaction in groups of patients divided in accordance with small criteria of functional asymmetry. The obtained results are of value for studying VE pathogenesis and for prognosing cognitive impairment in patients with VE.
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Фокин et al. (2018) conducted a review in Chronic cerebrovascular disorders (vascular encephalopathy) and normal aging. Cognitive load vs. Resting state / Healthy controls was evaluated on Correlation of cognitive characteristics with autonomic nervous system reactions. Cognitive decline in vascular encephalopathy is associated with decreased reactivity of the cardiovascular system, cerebral blood flow, and direct current potentials of the brain during cognitive load.
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