Paradigm shift of vascular dementia in very elderly society

Koji Abe

Department of Neurology, Okayama University Medical School

Japan is the most elderly country in the world, where the number of dementia patients is quickly increasing. In such a very old society, small vessel disease is very common not only in pure vascular dementia (VD) but also in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Vascular risk factors (VRF) such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus are also the similar risk factors for AD. Thus the paradigm of VD is now shifting into the close relation to AD in the very elderly country like Japan.

Address correspondence to Dr. Koji Abe, Department of Neurology, Okayama University Medical School (2-5-1 Sikatacho, Okayama 700-8558, Japan)