Department of Physiology and Anatomy, UNT Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA.
Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, UNT Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA.
Geroscience. 2021 Feb;43(1):159-166. doi: 10.1007/s11357-020-00263-4. Epub 2020 Sep 9.
Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is a term that encompasses a continuum of cognitive disorders with cerebrovascular pathology contribution, ranging from mild cognitive impairment to vascular dementia (VaD). VCI and VaD, thus, represent an interesting intersection between cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and a rising area of research in recent years. Although VCI and VaD research has identified various causes and explanations for disease development, many aspects remain unclear, particularly sex differences in VCI (e.g., epidemiology), unlike those available for cardiovascular disease and AD. Despite limited information in the literature, several studies have observed an association of estrogen receptor (ER) polymorphisms and VaD. If further explored, this association could provide valuable insights for novel therapeutic approaches. This review aims to provide a brief epidemiological overview and subsequent discussion exploring concepts of brain aging and involvement of estrogen receptors in potential mechanisms of VCI/VaD pathogenesis and treatment development.
血管性认知障碍 (VCI) 是一个术语，涵盖了一系列与脑血管病理学相关的认知障碍，从轻度认知障碍到血管性痴呆 (VaD) 不等。因此，VCI 和 VaD 代表了心血管疾病和神经退行性疾病（如阿尔茨海默病 (AD)）之间的一个有趣的交叉点，也是近年来研究的一个热点领域。尽管 VCI 和 VaD 研究已经确定了疾病发展的各种原因和解释，但许多方面仍然不清楚，特别是 VCI 中的性别差异（例如流行病学），这与心血管疾病和 AD 不同。尽管文献中的信息有限，但已有几项研究观察到雌激素受体 (ER) 多态性与 VaD 之间的关联。如果进一步探讨，这种关联可能为新的治疗方法提供有价值的见解。本综述旨在提供简要的流行病学概述，并随后探讨大脑衰老的概念以及雌激素受体在 VCI/VaD 发病机制和治疗开发中的潜在机制中的作用。
