Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Clinical, Neuropsychological, and Radiological Phenotypes, Histopathological Correlates, and Described Genotypes: A Review

Box 1

DSM-IV criteria for vascular dementia.

(A) The development of multiple cognitive deficits manifested by both

 (1) Memory impairment (impaired ability to learn new information or to recall previously learned information)

 (2) One or more of the following cognitive disturbances:

     (a) Aphasia (language disturbance)

     (b) Apraxia (impaired ability to carry out motor activities despite intact motor function)

     (c) Agnosia (failure to recognize or identify objects despite intact sensory function)

     (d) Disturbance in executive functioning (i.e., planning, organizing, sequencing, and abstracting)

(B) The cognitive deficits in criteria (A)—(1) and (2) each cause significant impairment in social or occupational

  functioning and represent a significant decline from a previous level of functioning.

(C) Focal neurological signs and symptoms (e.g., exaggeration of deep tendon reflexes, extensor plantar response,

  pseudobulbar palsy, gait abnormalities, and weakness of an extremity) or laboratory evidence indicative of

  cerebrovascular disease (e.g., multiple infarctions involving cortex and underlying white matter) that are judged to be

  etiologically related to the disturbance.

(D) The deficits do not occur exclusively during the course of a delirium.