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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
09:17
Using Retinal Imaging to Study Dementia
Published on: November 6, 2017
Increased neural progenitors in vascular dementia.
Antigoni Ekonomou1, Clive G Ballard, Omar N Pathmanaban
1Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, London SE1 IUL, UK. antigoni.ekonomou@kcl.ac.uk
Neurobiology of Aging
|February 9, 2010
Summary
Neurogenesis is stimulated in vascular dementia patients, with progenitor cells increasing in the brain even months after infarcts. This suggests enhancing neurogenesis could be a viable therapeutic strategy for brain repair.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Adult human brain contains progenitor cells with therapeutic potential.
- Limited clinical data exists on their application in humans.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine neurogenesis in vascular dementia patients.
- Compare progenitor cell presence in subventricular and peri-infarct zones versus controls.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistological study.
- Comparison of vascular dementia patients with age-matched controls.
Main Results:
- Significant increase in progenitor cells in both subventricular and peri-infarct zones in vascular dementia patients.
- Sustained progenitor cell increase observed even in infarcts older than three months.
- Evidence of progenitor cell migration from subventricular zone to peri-infarct areas, differentiating into immature neurons.
Conclusions:
- Neurogenesis is stimulated in vascular dementia, particularly around visible infarcts.
- Progenitor cells can migrate and differentiate into neurons up to three months post-cerebrovascular damage.
- Enhancing neurogenesis presents a potential novel treatment approach for vascular dementia.
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