Proposed mechanism of vascular<unk>  adapted from Aizenstein et al., 2016 Researchers hypothesize that vascular<unk>  disrupts processes in certain parts of the brain to put individuals at risk for developing<unk> . Two primary mechanisms have been proposed: one associates white matter lesions (attributed to cardiovascular burden) and cerebrovascular risk factors. These two mechanisms parallel the differences between MRI and clinically defined vascular<unk> , yet do not necessarily represent contradictory mechanisms. These brain changes are thought to be reflected in the white matter lesions identified by MRI. Cerebrovascular risk factors for vascular<unk>  include high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, coronary heart disease, and tobacco smoking. However, these factors do not account for all cerebrovascular changes in individuals as genetics may play a large role as well. Research has found that white matter lesions are particularly important in predicting future<unk> . Increasing severity, or magnitude, of these lesions predicts an increase in<unk>  over time (as studied in individuals who were already depressed). Additionally, lesions classified as ‘severe’ demonstrate the strongest association with<unk> . These white matter lesions also predict future<unk>  risk in individuals that are not currently depressed: non-depressed participants with identified white matter lesions were eight times more likely to develop<unk>  within the next three years compared to those without these lesions. Although the location of these lesions has been studied in connection to late-life<unk> , more research is needed to determine location’s role in the presentation of vascular<unk> .
Subcortical ischemic depression
Watershed stroke
Lacunar stroke
Zahn infarct
Early myoclonic encephalopathy
Excited delirium
Emergence delirium
Vascular thalamic amnesia