Atherogenic risk factors and cognitive function decline in geriatric age

Our aim was to verify the existence of a correlation between the degree of atherosclerotic (ATS) vascular damage and the alterations of lipid pools, a nd, in particular, between the presence of lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) levels hi gher than 30 mg% in plasma and an increased presence of ATS lesions in the vessels examined. In addition, we evaluated the existence of a possible cor relation between the hemodynamic alterations in the carotid vessels and the decline of the cognitive functions. Our results demonstrate that, among th e factors analyzed, the most predictive for the carotid ATS and for cogniti ve disturbances seems to be the total cholesterol. Lp(a) does not seem to b e significantly related to the degree of carotid stenosis and to the declin e of cognitive functions, as against to other authors. The light cognitive decline we observed in the patients of Groups 1 and 2 (modest ATS damage) c an be related to an initial phase of vascular dementia. The cognitive decli ne of the patients of the Groups 4 and 5 (major ATS damage) was mainly of m iddle degree and confirmed the risks connected with the presence of carotid ATS plaques.