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Abstract Objectives It is now recognized that blood brain barrier (BBB) leakage occurs in cerebral small vascular disease (CSVD) and plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of vascular dementia. We hypothesized that genetic polymorphisms of junctional adhesion molecule‐A (JAM‐A) (which may result in compromised structure of tight junction proteins that form the BBB) in combination with cerebrovascular risk factors hypertension, lipid disorders, and type 2 diabetes may result in BBB leakage and increase the individual's risk of CSVD‐related dementia. Methods In this case–control study, 97 controls with a mean Mini‐Mental State Exam (MMSE) score of 29 and 38 CSVD‐related vascular dementia participants (mean MMSE score of 19) were recruited. Bloods were collected for the analysis of two common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the JAM‐A genotypes rs790056 and rs2481084 using real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Medical history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes was collected for all participants. Results Polymorphisms of genotype JAM‐A SNP rs790056 showed statistically significant result when the subgroup with hyperlipidemia was analyzed (OR = 3.130, p = 0.042 for TC + CC genotypes with hyperlipidaemia vs controls). Similar result was found with diabetes (OR = 4.670, p = 0.031 for TC + CC genotypes vs controls). No significant result was found with hypertension. Borderline results of statistical significance were found for JAM‐A SNP rs2481084 with hyperlipidemia (OR = 3.210, p = 0.054 for TC + CC genotypes vs controls) and with diabetes (OR = 3.620, p = 0.069 for TC + CC genotypes vs controls) but not for hypertension. The borderline results might have been due to lack of statistical power because of small sample size. Conclusions These results lend further support that cerebrovascular risk factors interact with genetic polymorphisms of BBB proteins to increase the risk of vascular dementia.

Abstract Background Inflammation and altered lipid dyshomeostasis have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Objective To determine if there are any associations between dietary patterns, plasma lipid profiles, and inflammatory potential in a vascular dementia cohort. Methods One hundred fifty participants (36 subjects with Vascular Dementia and 114 healthy controls) from two Australian teaching hospitals completed a cross‐sectional survey examining their dietary and lifestyle patterns. Each participant's diet was further evaluated using the Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index. Some participants also donated blood samples for lipidomic analysis. Results After adjusting for age, education, and socioeconomic status, participants with vascular dementia tend to have higher lipid profiles, do less exercise, and engage less frequently in social interaction, educational, or reading activities. They also tend to consume more deep‐fried food and full‐fat dairy compared to control subjects. However, there was no difference in Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index between the two groups after adjusting for age, education, and socioeconomic status. Conclusion Our findings suggest a graded inverse association between healthy lifestyle factors and vascular dementia.