Rates, Risks and Routes to Reduce Vascular Dementia (R4VaD)

Rates, Risks and Routes to Reduce Vascular Dementia (R4VaD), is a UK-wide observational study of risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia after all types of stroke, funded by the Stroke Association, British Heart Foundation as part of their Priority Programme in Vascular Dementia, as well as the Alzheimer’s Society and Dementias Platform UK.

Stroke is a highly prevalent disease and is known to be a cause of cognitive impairment and vascular dementia. Individuals may undergo memory lapses, cognitive decline, mood alterations, or even develop dementia subsequent to a stroke; however, there remains insufficient understanding regarding effective treatment approaches for these conditions.

R4VaD is looking at these conditions to help more people to make a better recovery.

The aim of R4VaD is to improve our understanding of the rates of and risk factors for post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI), while informing patient services, intervention targets and research into mechanisms. The team uses information on pre-morbid and pre-stroke cognition, medical, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors collected in the main study and via data linkage.

I hope the research provides understanding about why certain groups of individuals develop issues with memory and thinking after stroke, how to identify these patients, and gain insight into recovery pathways. This information could then be used to inform preventative management and treatment for conditions such as dementia after stroke.

The rich data we are collecting could also be used to generate new research questions which are clinically important and relevant to those living with dementia after stroke.
Dr Ellen Backhouse
Research Fellow, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences

Link to the full record of research outputs

R4VaD (Edinburgh Research Explorer)

Key publication

"Rates, risks and routes to reduce vascular dementia (R4VAD)"

This article was published on 2024-08-27