Atticus Hainsworth, PhD, St George’s University of London, London, UK, explores the most recent findings and developments in vascular contributions to cognitive impairment & dementia (VCID). A notable development includes the licensing of aducanumab for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which has generated an abundance of patient data that can potentially be used for other treatment approaches, such as vascular treatment targets. With the availability of this new data from patients taking aducanumab, there is space for new research ideas to treat dementia and other related cognitive disorders. A further development includes the growing evidence for the efficacy of blood pressure lowering in VCID, as shown in the SPRINT-MIND trial (NCT01206062). The results of the trial suggested that intensive blood pressure lowering reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Furthermore, a large meta-analysis with a combined cohort of 28,000 subjects, evidenced that lowering blood pressure influences the risk of dementia, with a 13% reduction overall. Therefore, late life blood pressure lowering seems to be a promising treatment for VCID. This interview took place at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2022 in San Diego, CA.
