Baradaran Hediyeh, Sarrami Amir Hossein, Gupta Ajay
Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.
Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States.
Front Neurol. 2021 Nov 18;12:741500. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.741500. eCollection 2021.
The development of cognitive dysfunction and dementia is a complex, multifactorial process. One of the contributors to various types of cognitive dysfunction is carotid atherosclerosis which can frequently be seen in asymptomatic individuals. There are a number of different manifestations of asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis including arterial stiffness, carotid intima-media thickening, flow-limiting stenosis, and complex, atherosclerotic plaque. Each of these forms of atherosclerosis may contribute to cerebral parenchymal damage, contributing to cognitive dysfunction. In this review article, we will discuss each of these forms of carotid atherosclerosis, present the potential mechanistic underpinnings behind an association, and then review the scientific evidence supporting potential associations to cognitive dysfunction and dementia.
认知功能障碍和痴呆的发展是一个复杂的、多因素的过程。各种类型认知功能障碍的促成因素之一是颈动脉粥样硬化，这在无症状个体中很常见。无症状性颈动脉粥样硬化有多种不同表现，包括动脉僵硬、颈动脉内膜中层增厚、限流性狭窄以及复杂的动脉粥样硬化斑块。这些动脉粥样硬化的每种形式都可能导致脑实质损伤，进而导致认知功能障碍。在这篇综述文章中，我们将讨论这些颈动脉粥样硬化的每种形式，介绍这种关联背后潜在的机制基础，然后回顾支持与认知功能障碍和痴呆潜在关联的科学证据。
