Subcortical vascular dementia: survey of treatment patterns and research considerations.

BACKGROUND Since few studies have examined the effectiveness of therapies for subcortical vascular dementia, treatment guidelines are not available. Current patterns in the treatment of such dementias have not been studied. OBJECTIVE To determine the practice patterns of Canadian specialists for the treatment of subcortical vascular dementia, and to survey their opinions regarding issues which are important in the design of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in this field. DESIGN National survey of all specialists certified in Neurology or Geriatric Medicine. RESULTS Of responding physicians (78%) prescribed antithrombotic therapy for patients with vascular dementia. Most begin treatment with aspirin 325 mg daily (64%). The next three most common initial treatments were; no pharmacotherapy (12%), aspirin 650 mg daily (11%), and aspirin 1300 mg daily (11%). If the dementia continued to progress despite initial therapy, the treatment options were more varied. Most specialists (69%) believed that an RCT to assess the efficacy of aspirin in vascular dementia is warranted. The majority (69%) also felt that serial neuroimaging would be required for participants in such a trial, with magnetic resonance imaging being cited most frequently (41%). The majority of specialists considered three years as the minimum duration for such a trial. CONCLUSIONS Specialist physician practice patterns vary significantly for the treatment of patients with subcortical vascular dementia. Most physicians believe that an RCT testing the efficacy of aspirin in this condition is required. However, before such a trial can be conducted, many methodological difficulties need to be addressed.