Pathophysiology of dementia.

BACKGROUND: Dementia is a debilitating neurological condition that affects millions of patients and families worldwide and remains a significant public health concern. Understanding the underlying neurobiology and pathophysiology of dementia is an important step towards finding effective treatment options.

OBJECTIVE: This article provides an overview of the pathophysiological processes of the most common types of dementia in older adults and highlights some of the developments in the research of biomarkers.

DISCUSSION: The most common forms of late-onset dementia are Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, vascular dementia and frontotemporal dementia. The pathophysiology of dementia is broadly characterised by the aggregation of misfolded proteins (such as amyloid-β plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease) and cerebrovascular disease. Mixed neuropathologies are frequently detected in the brains of older people with dementia and have important clinical implications.