Vascular risk factors of Alzheimer`s disease and a possibility of their modification by adaptation to intermittent hypoxia

Abstract

Macro- and microvascular damage of brain, which result in brain tissue hypoperfusion, plays an important role in development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The gradual, slow decline of cerebral blood flow characteristic of normal ageing generally does not lead to significant cognitive disorders. However, in the presence of vascular risk factors (RFs), cerebral blood flow drops rapidly and reached the critical attained threshold of cerebral hypoperfusion beyond which irreversible neuronal injury and pronounced cognitive decline begin. More than 20 vascular RFs for AD have been identified, the major of which are hypertension, diabetes mellitus, previous stroke, atherosclerosis, physical inactivity, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, metabolic syndrome, ischemic heart disease, and stress. This review focuses on experimental and clinical studies, which have convincingly demonstrated that adaptation to intermittent hypoxia (AIH) can modify key vascular RFs for AD. This makes AIH a promising method for slowing the development or even prevention of AD in patients at high risk.