Stopping Cognitive Decline and Dementia by Fighting Covert Cerebral Small Vessel Disease

Cerebral small Vessel Disease (cSVD), characterized by an alteration of the structure and function of small penetrating brain arteries, is highly prevalent in older persons from the general population and represents a leading cause of stroke and a major contributor to cognitive decline and dementia risk. In France \>4 million persons aged 60+ are estimated to have moderate to extensive covert cSVD (ccSVD), i.e. features of SVD on brain imaging without a history of clinical stroke. Better detection and management of covert cSVD would have a major impact on preventing disability and costs related to stroke, cognitive impairment and dementia. However, there are no specific mechanistic treatments for cSVD and hardly any recommendations worldwide on how to prevent and treat cSVD and related cognitive impairment. The aim of the present study, through the identification of novel cutting-edge multimodal biomarkers, is to develop innovative diagnostic and risk prediction tools for cSVD and its complications and to contribute to accelerating the discovery of novel drug targets and therapeutics strategies for cSVD.