ABSTRACT
After neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), cerebrovascular disease
(CVD) accounts for the second largest group of dementias (1). There is some confusion about this in
the literature where it is sometimes stated that dementia with Lewy bodies is the second most
common cause of dementia (2). In autopsy series and among neurodegenerative disorders, this may
be true. However, in epidemiological surveys and certainly when stroke dementia is included,
vascular dementias rate second (3). In some Asian countries, such as Japan, vascular dementia even
outranks AD (4).
