In the past, the dementia caused ny cerebrovascular disease was referred to as ‘atherosclerotic’ psychosis. Following the separation of distinct syndromes of psychiatric disorder in late life, it become apparent that dementia was often associated with multiple infaracts of varying size. mostly caused by thromboembolism from extracranial arteries and Hachinski (1974) suggested the now superseded term multi-infarct dementia (MID). 

Recent research has shown that patients with multi-infarct dementia are a subgroup of a larger group of patients with dementia due to vascular disease, and the term vascular dementia is now preferred. The pathogenic mechanisms are very varied, and include large or small vessel arteriosclerosis, embolus, vasculitis, amyloid angiopathy and intracranial haemorrhage. 

Related: Pick’s disease, Parkinsons disease, Organic mental disorder