Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) is the most common cause of vascular cognitive impairment and affects all levels of the brain’s vasculature. Features include diverse structural and functional changes affecting small arteries and capillaries that lead to a decline in cerebral perfusion. Due to an ageing population, incidence of cSVD is continually rising. Despite its prevalence and its ability to cause multiple debilitating illnesses, such as stroke and dementia, there are currently no therapeutic strategies for the treatment of cSVD. In the healthy brain, interactions between neuronal, vascular, and inflammatory cells are required for normal functioning. When these interactions are disturbed, chronic pathological inflammation can ensue. The interplay between cSVD and inflammation has attracted much recent interest, and this review discusses chronic cardiovascular diseases, particularly hypertension, and explores how the associated inflammation may impact on the structure and function of the small arteries of the brain in cSVD. Molecular approaches in animal studies are linked to clinical outcomes in patients, and novel hypotheses regarding inflammation and cSVD are proposed that will hopefully stimulate further discussion and study in this important area.

中文翻译：

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心血管合并症、炎症和脑小血管疾病

脑小血管疾病 (cSVD) 是血管性认知障碍的最常见原因，并影响大脑血管系统的各个层面。特征包括影响小动脉和毛细血管的多种结构和功能变化，导致脑灌注下降。由于人口老龄化，cSVD 的发病率不断上升。尽管它很普遍并且能够引起多种使人衰弱的疾病，例如中风和痴呆，但目前还没有治疗 cSVD 的治疗策略。在健康的大脑中，神经元、血管和炎症细胞之间的相互作用是正常功能所必需的。当这些相互作用受到干扰时，就会出现慢性病理性炎症。cSVD 和炎症之间的相互作用最近引起了很多兴趣，这篇综述讨论了慢性心血管疾病，特别是高血压，并探讨了相关炎症如何影响 cSVD 大脑小动脉的结构和功能。动物研究中的分子方法与患者的临床结果相关，并且提出了有关炎症和 cSVD 的新假设，有望激发对该重要领域的进一步讨论和研究。