Microvascular network alterations in the retina of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Although cerebral small-vessel disease has been implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the cerebral microcirculation is difficult to visualize directly in vivo. Because the retina provides a noninvasive window to assess the microcirculation, we determined whether quantitatively measured retinal microvascular parameters are associated with AD.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study (case:control matching ≈ 1:2).

Epidemiology of dementia in Asia: insights on prevalence, trends and novel risk factors.

Asia is the most populous region in the world and its rapidly growing societies are the sources of global development. However, accompanying this rapid growth is aging of the population with increasing occurrence of diseases, of which dementia is the most prominent, which provide major challenges to healthcare systems. Dementia prevalence in Asia has previously been found to be lower than Western populations, but recent studies show that age-specific prevalence rates are similar globally.