Incidence of microvascular dysfunction is increased in hyperlipidemic mice, reducing cerebral blood flow and impairing remote memory.

Introduction: The development of cognitive dysfunction is not necessarily associated with diet-induced obesity. We hypothesized that cognitive dysfunction might require additional vascular damage, for example, in atherosclerotic mice.

Methods: We induced atherosclerosis in male C57BL/6N mice by injecting AAV-PCSK9 (2x10 VG) and feeding them a cholesterol-rich Western diet.