Microvascular changes and the mechanism in Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Till now, the pathogenic mechanism of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not completely clear. Extensive literatures have shown that the local cerebral microvascular disease occurs before neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment, and local blood flow reduction happens before the clinical symptoms of AD. This reveals that the microvascular changes are probably the important pathogenic manifestation in the AD formation and involved in the occurrence and development of AD. In this review, we explore the possible pathogenic mechanism of AD by analyzing the morphological changes of microvasculature, and the effects of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), oxidative stress and amyloid β-protein (Aβ) on microvasculature respectively.

DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2016.05.011