Diagnosis of Vascular Cognitive Impairment Using EEG

Abstract

Dementia or Major Neurocognitive disorder is the second most burdensome chronic condition in which 11.9 percent live with disability and 1.1 percent lost their lives, and their numbers will be doubling every 20 years to 65.7 million by 2030, and 115.4 million by 2050. Dementia due to vascular diseases is the second most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease and 28 to 36 million people worldwide with dementia are undiagnosed1. Vascular Dementia is characterized by distinct aspects of impaired consciousness and such an impairment is indexed by declined performances at controlled cognitive tasks. It is related to reduced brain metabolic activity in a network of frontal, posterior associative, and limbic regions due to the occurrence of multiple mini/major strokes or other conditions that affect blood vessels and nerve fibres deep inside the brain. Diagnosis of Vascular dementia in its preliminary stages is a very complex task as it requires screening, Neuro-cognitive testing, and brain imaging evidence usually CT Scan or MRI. Sometimes cause of mild impairment cannot be diagnosed by brain Imaging. EEG based diagnostic approaches are promising tool in case of differentiating diverse types of dementia. Portable EEG with its high temporal resolution property is an economical solution for the many undiagnosed people with dementia in the low and middle income countries. This paper reviews EEG analysis approaches to diagnose vascular mild impairment and dementia as a future diagnostic tool in the healthcare sector.