Biomarkers of Vascular Changes in Neurological Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

Cerebrovascular diseases are a common and extremely important problem in the population of both adult patients and children. Stroke is one of the most frequent causes of permanent disability and lack of independence. It is still the leading cause of death, after heart disease, in developed countries. According to the CDC, in 2021, 1 out of 6 deaths from cardiovascular disease resulted from stroke. In patients with stroke, many factors (biochemical, genetic, and clinical) affecting its etiology often coexist.

Vascular dysfunction often accompanies neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease), contributing to further cognitive impairment. It is even suggested that vascular changes may precede the manifestation of Alzheimer's disease; therefore, they may play a role in the etiology of the neurodegenerative disease.

In turn, in patients with epilepsy, the long-term use of antiepileptic drugs may affect the concentration of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, including lipids, homocysteine, or asymmetric dimethylarginine. These parameters play an important role in endothelial dysfunction, which is a key step in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases in adults. Since more than half of epilepsy patients are treated with a combination of several antiepileptic drugs, the awareness of the negative impact of drugs on biochemical parameters may help prevent vascular diseases. In children with epilepsy, the use of antiepileptic drugs is particularly important from the point of view of the possibility of developing early vascular problems. Also, headaches may be the first manifestation of increased pro-atherogenic parameters.

Other changes such as vasculitis may also affect cerebral vessels. It is a heterogeneous group of multisystem lesions characterized by inflammatory infiltrates and necrotic changes in the walls of blood vessels. The vessels are affected by the disease process only in some sections, but these changes may result in local narrowing/occlusion of the vessels, resulting in ischemia.

Since vascular changes cause or accompany many neurological diseases, the importance of the problem is high, and the knowledge of biomarkers that increase the risk of vascular changes in neurological diseases may be helpful, e.g., in secondary prevention.

In this Special Issue, all types of articles regarding the biomarkers of vascular changes in neurological diseases are welcome including original research, review, meta-analyses, and case studies.

Dr. Beata Sarecka-Hujar
Guest Editor

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• cerebrovascular diseases
• biomarkers
• Alzheimer's Disease
• stroke
• neurodegenerative Diseases
• epilepsy
• inflammation