Vascular Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Advancing an Integrated Approach

Product Description

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) are commonly viewed as the first and second most common types of dementia, respectively. The traditional paradigm has been to view and treat each illness as a separate entity with a separate pathophysiology. However, clinical and
pathological studies suggest that the boundary separating AD and VaD, as well as their mild cognitive impairment (MCI) analogs, is not well defined. Thus, there is increased interest in viewing these diseases along a spectrum because of the significant overlap in the characterization and diagnosis
of AD, VaD, and MCI. The focus of this edited volume is to examine how AD and VaD, as well as their MCI analogs, are best viewed as a heterogeneous, intersecting, if not a continuous disease state rather than separate, distinct entities. This book examines this approach by providing empirically
based evidence, reviews of the literature, and chapters by key leaders in the field and will be of interest to clinical neuropsychologists and anyone studying or treating dementia in its many forms.

Review

“A complementary and pragmatic approach to cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD).”

—
Choice

“A ‘must-read,’ very timely, comprehensive interdisciplinary overview illuminating the complexity of the dementia syndromes, particularly Vascular-Alzheimer spectrum disorders.”
—
Sandra E. Black, Professor of Medicine (Neurology), Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook HSC and University of Toronto

“This remarkable volume brings us the most current understanding on the undeniable role of vascular disease risk factors in both neurodegenerative and vascular dementias. Expert authors fittingly also focus on prodromal phases of the most common dementia types including mild cognitive impairment
and vascular cognitive impairment. They highlight vascular disease that robustly influences relevant neuropsychological, neuroimaging as well as neuropathological substrates of dementia syndromes.”
—
Raj Kalaria, Professor of Cerebrovascular Pathology (Neuropathology), Newcastle University

“There is an increasing realization that the most common neuropathology underlying dementia and MCI is the combination of plaques, tangles, as well as alterations due to vascular disease. In this important book Libon, Lamar, Swenson, and Heilman have assembled an impressive set of contributors to
describe the mechanisms, markers, and treatment implications of combined AD and vascular pathology commonly present in dementia and MCI. This endeavor stands to advance our knowledge and shift current research and clinical paradigms that study neurodegenerative illness.”
—
Glenn Smith, Chair of Psychology, University of Florida

“In this book, world-leaders in the area summarize current knowledge on the heterogeneity of Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and mild cognitive impairment, and how these conditions are on a continuum and influence and shape the expression of each other. This book is a must for researchers,
clinicians, and others interested in the heterogeneity and overlap of the most common forms of cognitive decline, and will be a standard reference for many years.”
—
Ingmar Skoog, Professor, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology and Director of the Centre for Ageing and Health, AgeCap, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

About the Author

David J. Libon is Professor of Geriatrics, Gerontology, and Psychology at the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, School of Osteopathic Medicine, Rowan University.

Melissa Lamar is a licensed Clinical Neuropsychologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and a full-time Cognitive Neuroscientist within the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center at the Rush University Medical Center.

Rodney A. Swenson is a board certified Neuropsychologist and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.